Ways of the Sinister
by Kieno0324
Summary: Darkness lurks. Watching them from every corner. Watching what they do. Can they survive when someone dear to them all is in danger? Why is Gene making a reappearance? Will the SPR survive or will they fall victim to the sinister? Ghost Ship Seq. COMPLETE
1. Prologue: Ways of the Sinister

This story is dedicated ecyoj06 for all of the support given to me. I was going through a hard time and ecyoj reviewed my other story asking for an update. I told her that I was going through some hard times. She supported me and was very kind about the whole thing and I was grateful. Thankfully everything worked out. 

Anyway, here's the sequel to Ghost Ship. Please review and tell me what you think, oh and watch out for a mischevious Deshi.

* * *

Mai dashed through the rain as she made her way towards the office that she had worked in for the past four years. She was late and she knew that. Madoka and Koujo Lin, close friends of hers and her boss's, were visiting with a case that Lin had brought them. It was surprising that he had been the one to bring it but apparently it had been a close friend of his from China that had asked him to get help.

'Why is it raining? When I went out to get the pastries the sun was shining!!' Mai growled to herself as she entered the building. She shook her slightly wet hair before dashing up the steps with the pastry box securely under her arm. She opened the door and entered the office. She was slightly thankful that Lin and Madoka hadn't gotten there yet.

'They're probably at the hotel. They fly from England all the time. I would be surprised if they didn't get jetlag that was so severe that they won't be able to sleep for days.' Mai thought with a smile on her face as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Mai, tea!" she winced before looking over her shoulder and sighed.

"I know, I know! Let me get my coat off at least!" she called back. She heard him sigh before the door to his office closed with a thud. She gave a small smile. Lin had called and asked him to take the case. Naru had told him he would think about it but then Madoka had started calling every day and annoying the stoic nineteen year old until he had accepted.

'Poor Naru. Even though he's almost twenty, Madoka still treats him as though he's five. Must be Deshi's influence.' Mai thought effectively as she set the water to boiling as she bustled around the kitchen, pulling the serving plate out and placing pastries out. She had no doubt in her mind that the small family would be arriving shortly.

She turned as the teapot whistled. She made her way over and began to prepare the tea for Naru. Once she was done she carefully took the cup and made her way to Naru's office. She entered with a soft knock to announce her presence and placed the tea cup on his desk. The boy looked up at her before smirking. She tried to dodge his hand as it reached for her but had no luck. She was soon trapped in his arms and his lips were devouring hers before she managed to push him away as her breathing was uneven.

"I think the only reason you ask me for tea anymore is to just get me into your office!" she accused. She heard him chuckle darkly and she squeaked as his lips covered hers again. She was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to be allowed to exit his office again. She somehow doubted it but was never given the chance to voice her thoughts as she heard the front door of the office open.

"We're here!!!" Madoka called out. Naru frowned angrily as he was forced to let Mai go. She stood up and dashed into the outer office to see both Lin and Madoka helping Deshi take his rain coat off.

"Mai!!" the two year old cried as he dashed to her. She bent down and hugged the young boy tightly before she picked him up and sat down on the couch with Deshi sitting on one side of her and Naru claiming the other side.

"Noll!" the boy waved. Naru nodded at him before reaching over Mai's shoulder and ruffling the young boy's black hair. The boy giggled before looking at his mother and father and Lin smiled gently. Deshi climbed from the couch and quickly scrambled back up into his father's lap.

"Daddy..." Deshi smiled brightly as he rested his head against his father's chest. Mai gave a small giggle, ignoring the fact that Naru kept his arm around the back of the couch and close to her shoulders.

"How are you doing?" she directed towards the adults. Madoka gave her a bright smile and Lin nodded to her. Deshi tugged on his father's long bangs and Lin winced slightly before pulling his son's hand away from his hair.

"Stop, Deshi. We've told you about pulling people's hair." Lin said firmly. The boy frowned before nodding.

"Sorry." Deshi told his father as he cuddled into the older man's chest.

"We've been good. Deshi's a handful and a half but...that's how kids are. And I brought you the information on the case, Noll. The client can't come out to meet you so we have to go there." Madoka told him pleasantly. He sighed before taking the folder from her and reading it over. He shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair.

"How long has this been going at your friend's house, Lin?" he asked the man. Lin sighed as he kept a wiggling Deshi in his lap. The boy finally escaped his father's grasp and took the toy from his mother and settled in her lap. Mai couldn't keep from smiling, the only lap that the boy hadn't been on yet was Naru's and he was eyeing it as he hugged his teddy bear that he had had since he was a baby.

"Since he moved in, I believe. He isn't as much of a friend as he is a family acquaintance. He was a friend of my father's and my mother asked me to talk to you." Lin finally replied. Naru gave a small frown.

"Has he ever complained of these things before?" Naru asked. Lin sighed, he knew the boy didn't want to take the case. And Lin couldn't blame him.

"Wei has never uttered a complaint in front of me. But let me warn you, he is as stubborn as a mule. I wouldn't have suggested this case if my mother hadn't just left me alone." Lin shot a look at Madoka and Mai gave a smile. She could see what was going on. Apparently Lin's mother, a kind lady that Mai had met last year on a trip to England, had been annoying not only him, but his wife as well. And Madoka was very scary when she was annoyed or determined.

'This looks like a mixture of both.' Mai thought with a sickly smile. She loved Madoka dearly, however her personality was much more rapid in changes than Mai thought her own was. But then again, she could've been wrong.

"Very well. It says here that things move on their own and some of the corners of the house remain dark no matter how much they try to light it. I must say that though this case didn't interest me first...it is becoming rather intriguing." Naru said with that dark smirk of his. Mai gulped. She wasn't very fond of that smirk. It meant one of two things, Naru was excited or he was about to kiss her. She hoped that it was the former rather than the latter, she didn't want him kissing her in front of Deshi.

She blinked as Deshi slipped out of his mother's lap and relocated on Naru's. The teenage boy blinked in surprise and Mai stifled a giggle at the surprised look that was on her boss's face. It was absolutely adorable with Deshi grinning up at him and him just staring at the boy in his lap, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do.

Alright, leap frog. You need to eat." Madoka said as she pulled out a glass jar of what looked to be baby food. Mai looked on closer inspection and saw that it was apple sauce. At least they weren't giving him smashed peas. Mai shuttered, she just hated _looking_ at the things when she walked past them.

"No!" Deshi said with a giggle. Naru picked the boy of his lap before putting him in Mai's lap. Mai blinked in surprise before looking up at Naru curiously. She felt her eyes widen at the stunned look that Naru had on his face before the boy quickly dashed into his office and closing the door behind him. Mai looked at Lin and Madoka curiously before shrugging.

* * *

Naru sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He wasn't exactly sure what had come over him. One minute he was staring down at Deshi and the next he was wondering what it would be like if he was holding his own child. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't imagined the child having big brown eyes like his mother.

'This is going to be interesting. That is for sure.' he told himself as he looked at his computer screen. He didn't know what had brought on the image. He supposed it was the kiss from earlier but he had always been so much more _controlled_ around her before. Even though she was his and everything, he was always able to control himself around her. He didn't know how far she was ready to go and he certainly didn't want to force her to do anything.

"Mai!!" he called. He heard her complaining in the other room before the door opened and she stood there with a raised eyebrow. He stared at her and she gave a soft sigh. She gently closed the door behind her and moved closer to his desk.

"Call the others. Tell them to be here at nine am Saturday. Masako would know whether John has been assigned a church. We need him as well. I would prefer to have him do a blessing before we tried anything else." Naru told her. Mai nodded in understanding before quietly slipping out of his office. She went over to her desk and could see that Madoka, Lin, and Deshi were in Lin's old office.

Naru hadn't moved any of Lin's stuff in case Lin did come back for a case. Though Mai knew it was impossible as the man seemed to adore his family. He seemed to adore his wife very much. Mai felt a smile spread across her face as he stole a kiss from her as Deshi chased the red ball that they had given him.

'Alright, now to call everyone!' Mai thought as she sat at her desk. She picked the phone up and dialed Takigawa's phone number. She waited as it rang. She wondered if he was even home before she heard it finally pick up.

"Hello?" a female voice asked. Mai blinked. She _recognized_ that voice. It was a voice that she heard almost every time they had a case. And it was a voice she never thought to hear at Takigawa's house.

"Ayako?" she asked. She heard the woman giggle.

"Mai, is that you? What does that idiot want now?" the woman asked and Mai sighed. It seemed that ever since she had accidentally let it slip what Gene's nickname for Naru was, Ayako and Takigawa had started using. Much to the narcissist's annoyance.

'Probably because he thought he had finally got rid of the nickname.' she told herself before she turned her attention back to Ayako. "Naru wants everyone here by nine am on Saturday. He's taken that case that Lin offered him."

"Oh, did Madoka and Deshi come with Lin?" the woman asked. Ayako loved Deshi, she was even listed as his pediatrician and flew out to England every six months to check on him.

"Yes. I think they're coming with him on the case. I certainly don't see Madoka sitting at the hotel waiting for us to call her and tell her what's going on." Mai said. She heard Ayako laugh.

"I certainly can't blame her. I'll pass the message onto to Takigawa. The idiot blew his washing machine up and I had to come and fix it." the miko sighed. Mai blinked.

"You know how to fix it?" Mai asked in surprise. She didn't realize that Ayako was the mechanical time. She certainly didn't strike her as the mechanical type.

"No. I have the sense to call the repair man. Takigawa obviously doesn't. Oh, I have to go. I'll see you on Saturday!" Ayako told her before hanging up.

'This will be interesting.' Mai couldn't help but think.

* * *

"Scary!" Deshi said bluntly as he cowered in his mother's side. Madoka and Mai were sitting in the back of the van watching as a huge looming building appeared in the middle of nowhere. Mai half-hoped that Lin would drive the van past the house but he didn't. He pulled into the long driveway with Takigawa's white SUV following them. Masako and John were with the monk and miko, apparently John had arrive in Japan on Thursday and Masako had told him of the plans.

"It's alright Deshi." Madoka assured her son. They had forgotten to bring the boy's car seat and Madoka had buckled him in and held him tightly the whole ride. And now he was hiding against her side as they drew closer to the house.

"It does look evil." Mai told Naru as she leaned forward so that she was resting against the back of his seat.

"Hm." Naru said. Though he couldn't disagree. The building did seem to have a rather dark aura around it. "I called Yasuhara and he will be doing some research before coming out here himself."

"I'll be able to do some research. Wei has internet access, or so he said. Or so my mother told me." Lin sighed. His mother had a way of twisting the truth so that he would agree to whatever she wanted. His sister was very much the same way. It was the reason she was studying in France.

"That will be helpful. Oh, Deshi, it's alright." Madoka told her son as he continued to cower in her side. Naru looked back at the young boy before at the boy's father.

"Is he sensitive?" Naru asked. Lin stopped the van and put it into park. He frowned before looking at Madoka who shrugged.

"He may be. However I've been letting him learn how to control my Shiki. They seem to enjoy playing with him. This is the first time that he's been on a case." Lin told them. Madoka nodded.

"Martin and Luella always made sure at least one of us weren't on a case before assigning the other a case. We never thought about testing Deshi as he's never showed any signs." Madoka said softly before winking at her son. He giggled as his father let one of his Shiki tickle him and he squealed.

"Leave the equipment until we enter the house and talk to Wei." Naru ordered as they climbed out of the van. They met with the others before making their way towards the house. Mai was looking at the house and she saw a curtain move. She gasped as she saw the skeletal figure standing there before it disappeared.

"Mai?" she looked down and saw Naru looking at her. She looked over at Masako as the medium suddenly gasped.

"There is something in that house." she whispered fearfully and Mai knew she had seen the figure as well.

"What is it?" Naru asked and Masako's eyes dilated before she looked at Naru and shook her head slowly.

"I wish I knew."


	2. Chapter 1: Ways of the Sinister

Mai was sitting in the base with Lin and his son. Of course she was playing with Deshi as Lin scowled at the screen. She giggled at the look on his face before squeaking as he turned the glare on her where she was sitting on the floor with his son.

"You look like you're pouting." she told him. He huffed angrily before turning in his seat so he was facing the other two that were in the base with him.

"I was never fond of Wei. He was always an annoying man that my father hung around with. In China, it was rather rude to try and kick someone out of the house. And I would have loved to do so dearly when my father was on his deathbed. My mother however didn't wish me to, because I was only twelve." Lin said angrily. Mai felt a grin spread across her face.

"I thought you said you didn't know him very well." she said. He shrugged his shoulders before his son toddled over to him and latched onto his leg as he remained sitting in his chair.

"Oh, I _wish_ I didn't know him well. I dearly wish that. I hate that man more than anyone of Japanese descent." Lin told her as she stood up. She blinked as she took a seat across from him as Deshi remained attached to his leg.

"Surely he can't be worse than what you think of the Japanese!" Mai exclaimed. Lin's eyes narrowed as he placed a hand on his son's head.

"I tried to convince Madoka to let Martin and Luella watch Deshi. Or even let my mother fly in and take care of him. She wanted Deshi to come on his first case. I would rather that man not come near my son." Lin said darkly. Mai realized that Lin was not fond of the man and didn't want his son around him.

"Oh, Lin, it'll be lucky if Deshi stays with Wei at all. He's more likely to be with

Monk-san before he goes to Wei!!" Mai exclaimed. She saw Lin's lips quirk. For some reason Deshi was scared of the monk and no one knew why.

"I suppose so. I would much rather Naru _not_ bring Wei in here but I suppose there is no other way to record his experiences." Lin said as he continued to stroke his son's head.

"I can take Deshi if that's how you feel." Madoka said from the door. The two looked up surprised and she was smiling gently as she leaned against the frame of the door. Mai smiled at her and she nodded.

"I would feel better." Lin admitted. Madoka nodded in understanding, Lin had told her the whole story about his disliking the man. She knew Mai would soon get the story

"Very well. Come on, Deshi. It's nap time." Madoka held her hand out and the boy waddled over to her. He took her hand and she led him out of the room. Mai smiled as she saw that he was watching them go until the door closed.

"Ne, Lin-san? You're happy aren't you?" she asked brightly. He chuckled before nodding and turning back to his computer.

"Mai, may I confide in you?" he suddenly asked. She gave a small laugh.

"I can't believe you'd want to confide in me after I forced you to the last time we were all on a case together." she told him. He chuckled before glancing at her. "But if you want to talk I'd be more than willing to listen."

"Madoka wants another baby." he said. Mai blinked and sighing. She smiled at Lin brightly.

"That's great news!" she told him. She saw that he was shaking his head.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. Madoka was having a lot of trouble nearing the end of her pregnancy. The doctors weren't very hopeful for her when she went into labor." Lin said softly. Mai remained quiet as she saw that he was struggling with his words. She couldn't help but think the poor man had gone through everything when Deshi had been born.

"Maybe it was the stress of the case." Mai suggested hopefully. She could see in Lin's eyes that he wanted another child. But he was more worried about his wife's health, which was understandable.

"No. Her pelvis is to small to give birth. She was lucky to birth Deshi with the few complications she did have. She almost bled to death, Mai." he told her. Mai gasped before she tried one last time.

"There is always a C-Section. They are rather successful. I was the result of a C-Section." Mai said with a smile. She heard Lin groan and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I'd want a replica of you running around." he told her with a small smile. She huffed angrily at him and turned her head but not before he saw the smile playing on her lips. She turned back to him after a few moments before giggling like mad.

"Mai, tea!" she looked up and saw Naru had just entered the room. She gave a soft sigh before getting up from her seat. She exited the base and went down to the kitchen where the chef was making dinner. While Wei wasn't exactly agreeable, according to Lin as she hadn't met the man yet, his staff were very kind and willing to help get rid of the menace terrorizing them.

"Oh, hello, Mai." the chef said in a friendly voice. The girl's name was Cheri and she had a thick French accent. She was swollen with child and Mai suspected that she would be gone in a few days.

"Hello, Cheri. Where's the teapot?" she asked with a gentle smile. Cherie pointed to where the teapot and cups were. Mai pulled them down and slowly began to make the tea. She was still wondering what it was exactly that she had seen in that high window. She had asked Cheri and the woman had said the room was locked and they were still looking for the key.

Mai frowned as she worried over Masako. The girl had entered the house and immediately grew ill. At one point in time Mai might have thought that the girl was doing it for attention. But since they had returned from England the girl had toned it down.

'She was rather pale when she entered the house. Maybe something is wreaking havoc on her senses. Poor John, he was worrying over her like nothing I've seen before.' Mai thought with a gentle smile. Though John was now a minister at the church he was required to remain celibate until he turned twenty-three. Mai didn't understand why he had to wait but he had told her with a gentle smile that celibacy was only allowed to be left on their birthdays.

'I don't think that he's going to be able to wait. He was looking at Masako so worried. And I know she was trying not to laugh even though she felt horrible.' Mai thought before the teapot's whistle caught her attention. She quickly fixed enough cups for the three of them. The others were sitting with Masako before Naru required they all be present for the interviews.

"Bye, Cheri! And thank you!" she called over her shoulder as she made her way towards the base. She carefully climbed up the three sets of steps that she had to go up to get back to the base. 'There should be some law against building houses this big!' she thought as she finally made it back to the base.

She entered and set the teacups in front of the two men. She hadn't expected anything from Naru. She gave a soft sigh. It seemed that the only thing that had really _changed_ in their relationship was that he would grab her at random moments and kiss her with abandon. While she didn't mind the activity she wished that he would acknowledge her a little bit more in public.

"I'm going to check on Madoka and Deshi." Lin said as he stood up. He made his way out of the base, making sure to close the door behind him. Mai squeaked as she was suddenly pulled against Naru and she was looking up into his blue eyes.

"I like it better when it's just us in the office." he told her. She felt her eyes slip close as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She clutched at his shirt as he held her close to his body. She felt safe in his arms before he pulled back and he was looking down at her with a content look on his face.

"I've been wanting to do that since this morning." he told her. She frowned before sighing.

"Then why didn't you? Everyone knows we're together." she told him. He gave a soft sigh and let her go. He missed the slightly pained look in her eyes and therefore, being the idiot he was, didn't know what she was feeling.

"I don't like being affectionate in public. It's not their damned business to know when I do something in my private life." he told her. She gave a soft sigh before sitting down beside him where he had sat back down.

"Not even holding hands or wrapping an arm around each other?" she asked softly. He shook his head as he read through the experiences one more time before he interviewed the servants.

"Mai, I'm not overly affectionate." he defended once again and she sighed. She supposed she should use her last weapon. Although she felt guilty about it. But she would like it if he would give into his urges to kiss her or hug her in public. She sure wouldn't mind!

"Well, because of that some boys in my school don't know I'm taken. I've been asked out almost four times." she told him. She heard him growl and she looked over at him and saw that he was staring at her possessively.

"Which dormitory do they live in?" he asked and she stopped from giggling. He was so cute when he was pouting!

"I'm not telling you. There is no way you're blowing my college up, thank you very much. But I thought I'd let you know." she said with a mischievous grin. He gave a soft sigh.

"What, do you want me to send you flowers every day or something?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"No. Just a little affection in public. I mean...are you ashamed of me?" she asked softly. She winced as he pulled her out of her chair and crashed his lips against hers before pulling away slowly. He looked angry that she had even thought that.

"There is no chance of that. I'm not a warm man, you know that. But I'd never be ashamed of you, Mai. That has to be the stupidest thing that I have ever heard come out of your mouth." he hissed against her lips before kissing her roughly again. She gave a small whimper before he pulled back again. "If anything...I'm ashamed of myself."

"Why?" she whispered softly and he gently brushed her hair with his fingers as she looked up at him. Her eyes wide and her lips were red. He wanted nothing more than to bend down to kiss her again but he forced his hormones down.

"I've treated you horribly and I know that. It's just amazing that _you_ would want me around you after all I've put through you." he whispered. She reached up and pulled his head back down for a gentle kiss. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her even closer so that she was standing on tiptoe, soft sounds coming from Mai before the door to the base opened and they pulled apart. Mai's breathing was irregular and she straightened her shirt from where Naru had been pulling on it.

"Are we interrupting something?" Ayako asked as she and Takigawa entered the base. Mai felt her cheeks flare as she turned away from Naru as he sat back down in front of the compute.

"What is it?" he asked. Mai couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face as she saw that his normally pale mouth was red as well as hers she realized as she glanced in a mirror.

'They know what we were doing!' Mai thought in embarrassment as Ayako explained how Masako had finally managed to go to sleep and John was staying with the medium.

"Did she say anything about the house before she went to sleep?" Mai asked curiously as the monk and miko sat down. Next to each other. Mai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow but neither defended their actions. She wondered briefly what was going on between the two.

"Nothing. She said that she didn't know what was in the house but that it was evil. Could it be a demon, Naru?" Takigawa asked. The young man looked at the monk before shrugging.

"It could be. We haven't interviewed the servants yet. Ayako, Mai, go retrieve Lin. We need him to record the interviews." Naru instructed. The two women stood up and exited the office.

"Do you think this is real?" Mai asked the older Shinto priestess. Ayako gave a soft sigh as they reached the door of the room that Lin and Madoka were staying in.

"I do. This house is creepy." Ayako said as she knocked on the door. They shared a look as there was a soft thump from the room. Mai reached out and opened the door and her eyes went wide.

"Ah!! We're sorry!!" she cried as she turned away from the sight as did Ayako. Lying on the bed was Madoka, with no shirt, and Lin who was on top of her. There was no doubt in either of their minds what the two were doing. Ayako managed to get her mouth to move.

"Uh...well...Naru wants you in the base, Lin-san!!" Ayako finally squeaked before she slammed the door shut and dragged Mai away from the room. She looked down at the girl in she was dragging and saw that her face was red.

'Not that mine is any better. I certainly _didn't_ expect that!' Ayako thought as she dragged Mai back into the base. They both sat down heavily, forcing their blushes down.

"What's with you two?" Takigawa asked the two flushed women. Mai looked at Takigawa before grinning and turning to Naru with the same smile.

"Lin is on his way here." she told Naru. She saw the man was looking at her oddly and she looked away from him. She couldn't believe that she had actually walked in on _that_! She felt so horrible for invading their privacy like that!

She looked up as the door opened and she gave Lin a smile as he entered the base and tying his tie. Mai looked back at the screens in front of her as he took his seat in front of the computer. Naru stood up and went to the older man and started to give the older man instructions.

"Alright. We're set up. I'm going to tell Wei-san that we need the first worker to interview." Naru said before he left the room. Ayako and Takigawa stood with the female doctor saying that she wanted to check on Masako. Mai glanced at the Chinese man as they were left alone.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out. Lin looked at her and chuckled before running a hand through his hair.

"I believe Madoka and I are more embarrassed about giving you a show. I didn't hear you knock on the door and...well I wasn't listening to Madoka when she tried to tell me about it." Lin said embarrassedly. Mai gave a small giggle.

"Then can we forget it happened?" she asked. He chuckled before nodding in agreement.

"That sounds fine to me." he told her and she sighed in relief before Naru reentered the room. She smiled at Lin before getting her notebook and pen out. Naru required her to take notes on anything that she found important.

A few moments later a young girl in a maid's outfit entered the room. She looked Asian but Mai soon realized that she wasn't Japanese. The girl's skin was slightly darker than that of Japanese descent. The maid took a seat across from them and Mai heard the click of Lin's keyboard as he began to type.

"What is your name?" Naru asked the young girl. She bit her lip before giving a soft sigh.

"Huang Wang." she told him with a small smile, her nervousness forgotten for the moment.

"Are you from Japan?" Mai asked suddenly as the curiosity finally got the better of her. She saw Naru send her look but she ignored it. She could ask her own questions! She was his girlfriend after all!

"No. I was born in Korea." Huang answered brightly before they both turned back to Naru as he gave a polite cough.

"Wang-san, what can you tell us about this house?" Naru asked. The girl thought for a moment as she tapped her chin.

"Nothing really about the house. But the ghost has messed with my chores a bit. I would get done cleaning the living room and when I came back to check on it, it would always be messed up again. And last week one of the other maids was pushed down the stairs. She said she saw a dark mass coming towards her and she tried to get away but it pushed her down the stairs." Huang said. Mai hear Lin typing it all as she scribbled 'dark mass' down on her paper.

"Do you know any history on the house?" Naru asked. Wang frowned before shaking her head.

"No, I've only lived in this house for a few years before Wei-san bought it from the former owners, he decided to keep us on. But the butler, Sen, has lived here since he was a child. He may know the history behind the house." Wang suggested. Naru nodded and Mai gave her a gentle smile as the maid stood up.

"Thank you, Wang-san!" Mai called. The Korean woman bowed before leaving the base.

"Do you know whether Wei kept all the others on?" Naru asked Lin. The older man sighed before looking over his shoulder at Naru.

"You have talked to him more than I have. I greeted him then set up the base. I have not been around him since." Lin told him. _And I don't want to be around him_ hung in the air. Mai knew from the look on Naru's face that he had even noticed the bitterness in Lin's voice.

"Maybe the butler can shed some light on whatever is going on here." Mai said brightly. Naru just nodded before the door opened again and old man entered the room. He was wearing a butler's outfit and his hair was grey. He looked kind and Mai instantly recognized him as the man that had opened the door when they first entered the house.

"Little Huang said you wished to speak with me?" he said with that kind smile on his face as he took the seat that the girl had vacated.

"Ah, yes. Is there any history of this house that could be behind the disturbances?" Naru asked. The old man thought back before shaking his head.

"Not that I know of. And I've been hear for nearly sixty years. I mean the family that used to live here had there problems but nothing that I would think would be able to cause anything like this. I've seen the dark mass that everyone has been talking about.

"It is rather menacing. It causes a severe cold and it's as though all the happiness that is in the world disappears. It had our chef convinced at one point that her husband, a nice young man in town, wanted to kill her because she was pregnant." the butler said and Mai gasped.

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed. The butler nodded before he looked at Naru.

"I don't know how good you are at your job, young man. But I implore you to stop this _thing_ before it hurts anyone else." the butler said before he also stood and left the room.

"Mai, would you go and watch over Deshi? I need to speak with Madoka." Naru said. Mai nodded before she stood up and quickly left the base. She made her way to the room and entered quietly. Madoka was sitting in a chair near the baby bed they had brought with them and sat up.

"Naru wants you in the base." she said brightly. Madoka nodded before standing up and making her way to the door.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier." Mai apologized before Madoka left the room. The young woman looked over her shoulder and gave a soft giggle.

"It's alright." Madoka told her with a gentle smile before leaving the room quietly. Mai took Madoka's seat and peered into the baby bed and smiled as she saw that Deshi had his thumb in his mouth.

'He looks so much like Lin-san it's scary.' she thought with a soft giggle. She felt a cold chill go down her spine. She looked over her shoulder and saw something in the corner. She wasn't sure what it was but she didn't like it.

'Is that-' she didn't finish the thought as she was tossed out of her chair rather hard. She hit the ground with a thump. She screamed as something wrapped around her throat and began to cut off her air supply. She struggled as hard as she could but realized that she couldn't feel the hands around her throat as she tried to scratch the unseen hands. Though she could feel them very well as they squeezed.

'Help...' she thought as black dots began to dance in her vision.

"SHI SHI!!!" a young voice screamed. Mai said something white shoot over her and she was suddenly able to breath. She sat up and looked at Deshi. She felt her eyes widen as the Shiki, for that was what it was, lay itself on his shoulders.

'Lin must have made one of his Shiki stay with Deshi.' Mai realized before suddenly Deshi held his arms out to her. She stood up and dashed over t him and picked him up as tears began to spill from her eyes.

"My Mai!" Deshi whispered as he gently patted her head as she tried to stifle her sobs.

"MAI! DESHI!" Mai turned to the door as it flew open to reveal Madoka, Lin, and Naru.

"What happened?" Madoka asked as she took in Mai's disheveled girl. Mai shook her head as held Deshi tightly.

"I don't know. I was sitting in the chair and something pushed me out. Next thing I knew it had me on the floor strangling me. I think...I think Deshi saved me." Mai whispered as she looked up at Lin. The man sighed.

"I suppose it was a good think I left a Shiki with him." Lin told Madoka. The woman nodded.

"Shi Shi!" Deshi giggled before hugging Mai tightly and the girl gave a small laugh as the tears began to try. "My Mai! My Mai!" he repeated before Naru cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at the young boy.

"I'm his Mai too." Mai tried to pacify Naru as she spoke to Deshi.

"NO! My Mai!" Deshi glared at Naru and the man raised an eyebrow and Mai gave a small giggle.

"You can share me." she told Deshi. The boy pouted.

"No wanna!" he said angrily before squealing as the Shiki that had remained placidly on his shoulders tickled him.

"I think the Shiki is on Naru's side. Come here, Deshi." Madoka said. The boy went to his mother before he suddenly whine.

"Potty!" he declared. Madoka giggled before she disappeared out the door with her son. Lin nodded before following his small family out of the room. Mai found herself being pulled into Naru's arms once the door had closed.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded into his chest before he pulled back and tilted her head back to look at her neck. He frowned angrily as he saw the bruises beginning to form. "It got you pretty badly."

"I can't feel it. I'm fine Naru. Wasn't it cute how Deshi was glaring at you?" Mai suddenly prodded. She gasped as she felt him pull her close and his lips descended on hers. She was sure that when she had first met him that she would have stiffened if he tried to kiss her but now she found that she was boneless against him. And when he pulled away she was amazed that she was still able to breath.

"As a wise man once said: My Mai." he whispered and she giggled before pulling his head back down.

"Be quiet, Naru. I like you better when you decide that kissing me is a better activity." she told him. He chuckled darkly before pulling her even closer than she already was.

"It is a _rather fun_ activity." he whispered huskily before catching her lips once again and she forgot everything that was around her.

* * *

"You are a very good boy, Deshi." Madoka told the young boy as he sat in front of her on the floor. They were rolling a ball to each other in the base. Mai and Naru had yet to return and Madoka couldn't help but wonder what they were doing. Especially after Mai's inquiry about pregnancy the last time they had visited Japan. 

"Madoka, come here." Lin said. Madoka rolled the ball back to her son before standing up from the floor. She went over to her husband. She squeaked as he pulled her head down to hers and letting her go suddenly. She blinked in surprise.

"What was that for?" she asked and he shrugged.

"Not sure." he told her. She smiled at him before there was a thump. They both turned and Madoka felt her eyes widen as she saw Deshi laying on the ground unconscious.

"DESHI!!" she screamed as she dashed to her son with Lin close behind. She gathered her son close. "Wake-up! Deshi!! Please! No, oh god, no!!" she sobbed as she rocked the boy back and forth. She looked up as Ayako and Takigawa dashed into the room after hearing her scream. Ayako immediately went to Madoka and felt Deshi's forehead. The woman looked over her shoulder at the monk.

"Call an ambulance!"

* * *

There is the next chapter. Remember to review! I love getting the replies! To bad some of guessed what I was aiming for with the Shiki and Deshi. Oh, well! Review and make the author happy! And I have a new game. It's called "Guess what's next" it's basically, you the reader, trying to read between the lines to figure out what I'm planning. Let's see how good everyone is at it! Bye! 


	3. Chapter 2: Ways of the Sinister

"Ayako?" Mai jumped up from her seat to look at the doctor. The woman gave a soft sigh before motioning for Mai and Naru, who had drove Ayako to hospital as they followed the ambulance carrying the distraught parents along with their unconscious son, to follow her.

They entered a small office that had pictures of Ayako and her parents. Ayako sat down behind her desk and folded her hands. She looked very professional in her white doctor coat with her hair pulled back. Mai realized that this was the area that Ayako was truly an expert in.

"He has quite a kidney infection. I'm not sure how he came down with it so quickly. He was fine this morning but now he's running a fever of a hundred and two, dangerous for a child his age.

"Naru, I must implore you let Lin and Madoka stay here." Ayako said. Naru nodded before Mai spoke up.

"What's wrong, Ayako?" Mai asked. She could tell that Ayako wasn't telling them the whole story. And that scared her terribly.

"I've done everything I can for Deshi. He's always been a healthy boy but he's allergic to the antibiotics that would be normally used to clear up a kidney infection. I've given him a different medicine that's not effective. But it's all I can do. For now it's all Deshi and his immune system." Ayako said. Mai let out a soft sob and Naru reached over and took her hand. He looked at Ayako and she met his eyes.

"Have you told Lin and Madoka?" he asked. Ayako nodded.

"Yes. I told them my father was flying in. He studied the kidney when he was in medical school so he's more schooled in the area that I am. I hope he will know what to do. He should be here tomorrow night." Ayako told them. They both nodded, tears slowly trailing down Mai's cheeks as she hid her face in Naru's shoulder.

* * *

Lin held Madoka close as she sobbed into his chest. He blinked back tears but his cheeks were already wet. He looked through the window as the doctors checked on his small son in the small hospital bed. He looked so weak and Lin looked away. He couldn't bear to watch them as they poked and prodded his child.

"Why?" Madoka mumbled into his chest between her choked sobs. Lin tightened his arms. He wished dearly that he knew but he didn't. He didn't know why.

"I wish...I knew." he whispered before he buried his head into her hair as she continued to sob. Ayako had told them what was going on and the hope she had that her father could help. Lin just wished that he could get there faster.

"My baby..." Madoka whimpered as she looked through the window. She reached out to touch the glass as one of the nurses that were swarming in the room changed the IV and Deshi whined. "DESHI!!" Madoka screamed as she collapsed to her knees. Lin dropped beside her and gathered his distraught wife in his arms.

'I wish I could tell her everything was alright. But I don't know what's going on. I don't what will happen. I hate not being in control.' he thought as he cradled her as they sat on the floor. He kissed her head as they sat there, wishing that they could hold their son.

* * *

"When is her father supposed to arrive?" Masako asked. The girl was sitting up in bed but she still looked pale. Mai was currently sitting with her as John and Takigawa helped Naru interview the rest of the staff that worked at Wei's house.

"Tonight sometime. We were able to talk to Lin before we left. Ayako had given Madoka a sedative. She couldn't stop crying and Ayako was afraid that she wouldn't be able to breath." Mai whispered. Masako gave a soft sigh.

"How high was his fever when you left?" Masako asked. Mai gave a soft sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I believe that Ayako got it back below a hundred but she doesn't know how long she will be able to keep under that. Apparently he's allergic to the antibiotic that would be able to clear the infection easily. But the allergy makes it harder." Mai whispered softly.

"Then we will pray for him and Lin and Madoka." Masako said. Mai nodded in agreement. It had broken her heart to watch Madoka cry until Ayako insisted she take the medicine to calm down. Madoka had fallen asleep shortly afterwards, whimpering so much in her sleep that Lin had bid them farewell and went to his wife to hold her hand.

"They don't deserve this!" Mai whispered as tears began to spill down her cheeks. She wiped at them stubbornly wishing that she wasn't so weak. She had never felt so scared in her life. She just wanted Deshi to be okay.

"No parent deserves to lose their child. For us it just seems so much harder because we know the child. And we know the parents." Masako whispered. Mai stared at her in wonder. She realized that the girl had actually grown in the years that she had known and Mai had a feeling that John had something to do with it.

"I suppose you're right. Would you mind if I go and check on the others and see how they're doing?" Mai asked. Masako shook her head before pulling a book towards her and starting to read it. Mai quietly left the room and made her way to the base.

"How is everything going?" she asked as she entered the room. John, who had taken over Lin's computer, looked up with a gentle smile on his face.

"We've interviewed everyone and Ayako called. She's on her way back from the hospital." John told her. She nodded before moving over to where Naru was organizing the interviews that Takigawa had written down anything of interest. The monk was currently looking through the monitors to see if there had been an increase in paranormal activity before Deshi had collapsed.

"Did she say anything about Deshi?" she whispered to Naru hopefully. The man nodded before he gave her a rare smile that she was glad to see. It quickly disappeared before the other two men could see but Mai didn't care. _She_ had seen it.

"She said that it had stabilized at one hundred degrees." he told her. She let out a sigh of relief. While it was still a fever, and high for a young child, it was lower than what it had been.

"Is he awake?" she asked softly. Naru chuckled and nodded.

"Oh, yes. And _not_ happy. I could hear him screaming in the background for his teddy bear. So you and I have to take him his bear tomorrow after breakfast." Naru told her. Mai gave a small giggle before nodding in understanding.

"Yeah. I can't see him being very happy about not have his teddy bear. Even if he is sick." Mai said. She was more than relieved that Deshi was awake and conscious. She knew it would make it easier on Madoka and Lin to look in their son's face to know that he's ready to fight the disease.

"I'm going to go see Masako." John suddenly declared before scurrying out of the base. Takigawa sent a look at Mai and she gave a small giggle.

"He has it so bad it's not funny. I think I'm going to get Ayako some food from the chef before that brilliant chef leaves." Takigawa said with a smile before leaving as well. Mai looked at Naru with a raised eyebrow.

"John isn't the only that's got it bad for someone." Mai said with a giggle before squeaking as Naru suddenly pulled her into his lap. He held her closely as he kissed her and she giggled softly before pushing him away.

"When I said to be affectionate I didn't think you'd be like this." she said. He chuckled before catching her lips again. She felt his hand on her waist and she pushed it away as she pulled back from him. She saw he was looking at her slightly stunned as what he was trying to do dawned on him.

"Mai..." he whispered and she gave him a nervous smile. She got up from his lap and straightened her clothes.

"I don't think I'm ready to go that far, Naru. I really would rather wait until marriage." she whispered. He nodded before turning back to his papers as he ordered tea. He heard her leave and he looked up and smiled.

'As long as it's _our_ marriage, I don't mind the wait. As long as you're mine.' he thought possessively. His cell phone suddenly rang and he saw that it was Yasuhara and he answered wondering what the boy had found.

"Yes, Yasuhara?" he answered the phone and he heard the college student chuckle.

"I shouldn't be surprised. I found some interesting things about the house, boss. Most of it's printed information that I'll be bring with me when I drive up this weekend. But I thought that this might catch your attention.

"About seventy, maybe eighty, years ago there was a young girl that disappeared when she was eight. She returned ten years later. This is where things get weird. A man, about her age, showed up in a snow drift that winter. She took care of him and fell in love with him, I suppose.

"One night somebody snuck into their room and stabbed them both to death. Rumors were going around that the man had be responsible for the girl's disappearance years prior and that he was a demon. Apparently he was very much a human. Why he and the girl weren't aging? People get so suspicious so easily. It was a year that passed and people tend to age over a longer period of time.

"I just thought that was interesting. In those days killing a demon was thought to give you immortality once you had the demon's blood on your hands. Should a person believe that they could very much use their mind to convince themselves that they were going to live forever. Or turn into a demon." Yasuhara finished. Naru gave a soft sigh.

"I see. Very well, I will see you this weekend. Thanks for the research." Naru told him before hanging up. He looked up as Mai entered the base with his tea. She gently set the cup down and gave him a gentle smile.

"When is Yasuhara-kun coming up?" she asked pleasantly as she sat down beside him.

"At the end of the week. He's already got quite a bit of information." he replied. She nodded in understanding before jumping as Naru's cell phone rang again. She sometimes wished dearly to throw the thing out of the nearest window.

"Calm down." Naru suddenly said. Mai looked at him stunned. "Madoka, you have to calm down. Where's Lin? Madoka...we're coming over right now." Naru closed his phone and looked at Mai. She waited for an explanation as a cold fear ran down her spine.

"His fever has spiked again. Ayako's father has apparently been able to find that the infection is only in one kidney. They're taking Deshi into surgery to remove the infected kidney." Naru said. Mai gasped in shock.

"But is he old enough to have that done? Can he survive without two kidneys?" she asked. Naru nodded.

"He can survive but I believe the situation is so dire right now that they can't afford to wait to remove the kidney. Apparently the infection is spreading." Naru told her and she shook her head. She couldn't believe this was happening to Deshi. Suddenly a cold realization dawned on her.

"Naru...what...what if the thing in this house...made Deshi ill?!" she cried. Naru frowned before turning to his computer and typing rather quickly. Mai watched him before he motioned her closer and she looked over his shoulder and she gulped.

"What's a source demon?" she asked. He gave a soft sigh.

"I've never encountered one but I've heard of what it can do. It goes after people with physic abilities. If it sees a person as a threat it will do everything in it's power to get rid of it. Including making the person ill." Naru said. Mai gave a sudden gasp as the reason began to dawn on her.

"Because Deshi...saved me...that _thing _is trying to kill him?!" she cried. Naru looked over his shoulder and saw that she was trying to stop from shaking as tears welled. "That's horrible! He's a baby!! How can...that's horrible!" she began to sob and Naru stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Madoka needs us right now. Lin is talking with Ayako's father before he operates." Naru told her and she nodded. Before she dashed out of the room and Naru frowned in confusion. Where was that girl going? He made his way back to the door before it suddenly opened again and Mai was standing there with Deshi's bear.

"Let's go, Deshi needs his bear after he gets out of the surgery, right?" she asked with tears still in her eyes and a weak smile. She was trying to not cry and Naru sighed before he steered her out of the base. They met Ayako at the front door. She explained about how her father had called her.

* * *

They were all sitting in the waiting room, minus Ayako, and Madoka was holding Deshi's bear tightly in her hands. Lin had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and Mai was resting against Naru's shoulder fighting sleep.

Madoka blinked as one of her tears hit her son's favorite bear. She gave a soft sob and hugged it as tightly as she could. She wished that the stuffed animal could bring her some type of comfort.. But it couldn't. She just wanted her son back. She just wanted to hug her son again and hold him tightly in her arms.

"Why him?" she whimpered as she turned into his shoulder as the sobs racked her body. She felt his arms holding her tightly as she clutched the bear even tighter. 'Why him?'

"I don't know." Lin whispered into her hair before looking up as Ayako walked towards them with a smile on her face. Madoka looked at the woman hopefully.

"He's in recovery, his fever is down considerably and the operation was successful. Father is with him right now, making sure that everything is going properly. You can see him in a few moments." Ayako said with a smile.

"Thank you." Madoka managed to choke out before smiling up at Lin. He returned the small relieved smile. He had never felt so relieved in his life.

"I'm glad." Mai murmured sleepily. Madoka giggled as the girl finally passed out before she wiped her eyes.

"Thank you for coming, Noll." Madoka told the cold young man. He nodded in understanding.

"I'm glad that he's going to be okay." he told the couple. Madoka nodded before Ayako took them back to where their son was. Naru kept his arm around Mai as she slept soundly against him.

* * *

Mai found herself standing back in the large house. It was the first hint that she got that she was asleep. She wasn't sure how she felt about having _one_ of _those_ dreams without Gene. It had been the first time since he moved on that she had a dream that involved a case. She took a deep breath before looking around the house.

'It doesn't look intimidating but what's haunting it? Is Naru right? Could it be what he called a source demon?' Mai thought to herself as she began to walk up the stairs. She stopped at the top of the steps before she felt as though she was being watched. She whirled around and saw that nothing was there.

'What is going on?' she asked herself before she saw a figure walking towards her. She squinted her eyes as the figure continued to walk towards her. Who was it? She continued to watch the figure as it continued to approach her.

For some reason she didn't feel as though she was afraid of the figure. She didn't feel like she should be scared of the figure. The shadows continue to hide it as it stopped not five steps from her. She continued to try and search for something that would give her a clue as to why she shouldn't be scared but there was absolutely nothing to give him any type of hint.

"Who are you ?" she finally asked the figure. She saw it shift and she swallowed, she realized that maybe she didn't want to know. She waited in the horrible silence as she waited for it to answer her.

"I would hope you know." the figure said and Mai felt her eyes widen. She _knew_ that voice. She watched as the figure's features became sharp and he was standing in front of her with a gentle smile. She _knew_ that smile. She _knew_ those eyes.

'It can't be...' she thought as her eyes grew wide as the realization hit her, causing her breath to grow erratic.

"Hello, Mai." he gently smiled.

"Gene..." she breathed.

* * *

Sorry for the short wait! Here's the next chapter. Hmm...remember to review! 


	4. Chapter 3: Ways of the Sinister

"Mom...my..." Deshi moaned. Madoka bit her lip. She knew it was wrong but she was wanting to laugh. He was still affected by the anesthesia and it had taken him five minutes to realize that his teddy bear wasn't food. Although he would still bite it every once in awhile to see if it had changed.

"What it is, my dear?" she asked him as she gently stroked his head. He reached his hand for something though she wasn't sure what. He finally gave up and fell back into his drug induced sleep. Madoka gave a small smile as she wiped her tears away.

'Thank you, God. Thank you for saving him.' she prayed before she felt an arm around her shoulders. She looked up and saw that it was Lin. She smiled at him and he returned before leaning down and gently brushing his lips against hers. She responded before he pulled away and gently smiled at her.

"You should get some sleep, Madoka. You haven't gotten any sleep." he told her. She tried to stifle a sudden yawn and he chuckled at how cute she looked.

"But...I'm not...tired..." she argued futilely as her words were punctured with yawns. Lin gently picked her up and carried her to the couch in their son's room. He took his coat off and gently placed it around his wife who was fighting sleep.

"Deshi...might wake-up." she argued. He chuckled as he gently brushed her bangs out of her drooping eyes. He could see that she was losing horribly.

"I'll stay up and watch him. Get some sleep, Madoka. I don't need you in the hospital because of exhaustion." he told her. She gave a soft giggle before snuggling into his coat and falling asleep. Lin smiled before he went over and sat down in the chair beside his son's bed.

Lin knew that he should've been used to being in the hospital with all the time he seemed to spend there with Naru. Especially after the boy refused to give his pride up and used his powers causing him to collapse. But it was so much harder to see his own son in the hospital bed with an IV in his small arm. He glanced at his sleeping wife before he gently reached out and stroked Deshi's forehead.

'Thank you, God.' he thought softly. His son moved his lips before shifting and clutching his bear tightly. Lin just smiled as he continued to watch the young boy. Deshi was going to be okay.

* * *

"But...I...what...Gene...uh..." Mai stuttered as she looked into the familiar blue eyes that were smiling. She finally gained control of her mouth. "What the heck are you doing here?! You're supposed to be somewhere you know, doing whatever English people do after they've passed on! Like drinking tea with your grandparents or something!!"

"As fun as that sounds...I don't like tea." he told her brightly with that smile still in place. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't care if you do look like him, there is _no way_ that you're related to Naru." she told him. He chuckled at the look she was sending him. "And what are _you_ doing here?!"

"Would you believe me if I said I missed you?" he said with a bright smile. One that Mai didn't trust at all.

"No. I know you missed me but that can't be the only reason you came back from wherever it is that you went." she told him. He gave a sigh before chuckling.

"Well, when faced with that logic. I honestly don't know why I'm back. I was somewhere that I was very happy and then I was here, walking towards you. That's all I know. So, are you on a new case?" he asked pleasantly. Mai nodded before she told him what was going on. His face grew dark as she told him about Deshi's sudden illness.

"And Noll believes it's a source demon?" he questioned. She nodded.

"That's what he called it. Is something the matter?" she asked softly. He gave a soft sigh.

"Be careful Mai. This thing sounds as though you and Masako are both in danger. Noll was right. There is no doubt that the demon went after Deshi because he protected you when it was trying to kill you. Just be careful and stay with Noll." Gene told her. She nodded before the scenery began to fade away as did Gene.

"Will I see you again?" she asked as darkness began to seep into her vision.

"I don't know. I would think so. Good-bye, Mai." he told her before her eyes opened and she was looking into Naru's blue eyes. He was looking at her and she closed her eyes again as she tried to get her bearings.

"Where am I?" she finally asked. He gave a soft sigh before he moved back and allowed her to sit up. She looked around and found that she was in a bedroom. She blinked as she saw that she was in a bedroom. It looked like the one that she was sharing with Ayako and Masako but there was only one bed. She also noticed that Naru was in pajamas. She was glad to find that she still in clothes.

"In my room at Wei-san's house. You fell asleep at the hospital and I brought you home. I didn't wish to wake Masako so I brought you to my room." he told her. She nodded before she remembered how he had been bent over her.

"Why were you leaning over me?" she asked curiously. She saw that he had a tint on his cheeks as he refused to look at her. She reached out and took his hand that was resting against her knee. "Naru?"

"You were mumbling in your sleep and...I was worried." he admitted as he fought the blush away. She gave him a bright smile before she remembered what had happened.

"Naru...he's not gone." she whispered. He looked at her suddenly, understanding what she was saying. "He was there. He hasn't moved on. He came back. He doesn't know how, but he came back."

"That idiot!" Naru suddenly hissed. Mai jerked back at the angry look on his face. She had expected it him to be stunned, maybe confused. Even happy that his brother hadn't moved on from them forever. Not angry.

"I'm going to the base. Bring me tea before you come." he told her as he stood up and grabbed his clothes. She watched as he stepped out of the room and heard the bathroom door close. She felt tears in her eyes and she wiped at them.

'Why is he angry? I thought that he'd be happy that Gene wasn't gone.' she thought before she climbed out of the bed and dashed out of the room as tears began to spill down her cheeks. She ran into the room she shared with the other girls. She pulled her clothes out and dashed into the bathroom that was attached to the room.

She slid to the floor as tears began to spill. She buried her head in her knees as the tears began to spill. She sobbed softly so that she wouldn't wake the other girls. She pushed herself up on shaky legs and started her bath as the sobs shook her shoulders and body.

'Why was he so angry? I thought...I thought that he would be happy.' she thought as she covered her face as she let the sobs out, the running water covering her sobs.

* * *

Naru stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wasn't sure why he had been so angry when Mai had told him his brother was back. He had had the intense urge to backhand her. He had known that he needed to get away from her. The fury he had felt, he realized, hadn't been directed at her. But his brother. And since his brother seemed to use her as means to talk to others he had wanted to take his anger out on her.

The question was, why was he so angry at his brother? He wasn't sure himself at the dark anger he held towards the older boy. He had been upset at his brother's sudden departure. He hadn't thought that he would be so furious. He had known that he snapped at Mai and caused her to not understand.

'I need to stay away from her for the day. I don't know if I'll be able to keep my anger in check. Especially after _that_ piece of news. I need time to calm down.' he told himself as he made his way back into his room. The covers of his bed had been thrown back and he knew that the girl had ran out of the room.

'Mai...' he knew he had upset her. But he didn't want to tell her that he had wanted to hit her. He had promised her that he would never hurt her, and if it meant being cold for a few days until he could calm down, he would do it. She meant everything to him and he wasn't going to harm her!

'_If I was alive, I could take her away in an instant._' Gene's words suddenly echoed in his head as he dressed. He felt his eyes widen. He suddenly knew why he wasn't pleased with Gene's return. He knew his brother loved Mai. And he knew that Mai had a soft spot for the older boy. He knew this fear better than he would have liked.

'I don't want her dreaming about him.' he thought viciously as he pulled his shoes on. He made his way into the base. He found everyone waiting, along with Mai and his tea. He ignored the girl as he took a sip of his tea before barking orders out at everyone.

"Ayako, since Masako is feeling better take her on a walkthrough of the house with a pen and pad. Masako, tell her to write anything that may catch your attention. John, Takigawa, do a separate walkthrough and talk to anyone you may meet on the way." he told them. They all nodded before quickly leaving the base.

"Mai, watch the monitors." he ordered her.

"Naru?" she asked. He looked at her coolly and he saw her jerk back. He felt a twinge of guilt but the fear at what he had been feeling earlier that morning overruled it.

"Get to work, Mai. We don't have time to play around." he told her. She gave a small sound in the back of her throat.

"I...I thought we were going...to go see Deshi?" she asked softly. He sighed and looked over his shoulder at her.

"After we get done today." he told her. She nodded before taking a seat in front of the monitors. The silence was pressing down on the couple. Naru couldn't help but keep glancing at Mai. He wanted nothing more than to go over and pull her up and push her against that wall and...he shook his head. He _wasn't_ going to think that like. At least not yet.

"Mai, tea!" he ordered suddenly. He heard her give a sigh. He watched as she stood up and left the room. He was glad to have her gone. He cared for her dearly but having her there and wreaking havoc on him because of his own anger, it was almost to much for him to bear.

'_Hello, dear brother. Still acting like an ass around Mai, I see._' Gene's voice entered his mind. He gave a soft growl. The last person that he wanted to talk to was his brother.

'Go away, Gene. I do not want to talk to you.' Naru growled softly to his brother.

'_Hm. It wouldn't be that hard for me to steal her away. I could act like you again in her dreams and pretend that I'm not myself._' Gene told him. Naru growled at loud.

"If you think you can take Mai by all means, try!! I don't give a damn what you do anymore!!" he snarled. He heard a soft gasp and looked at the door.

Mai was standing there, shaking. The teacup was shaking dangerously before it suddenly fell from her hands. His eyes locked with hers and he saw the hurt deep within her brown orbs. He slowly began to stand up, not wanting to cause her to bolt. He could tell by the shock and hurt in her eyes that any sudden movement would cause her to bolt like a rabbit.

"I...you...would...give me up that easily?" she suddenly whispered. He felt his eyebrows shoot up.

"Mai, I..." he tried to explain. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he felt her slipping away from him.

"You jerk! You absolute jerk!" she shouted at him. "I trusted you and loved you for _three years_! I...can't believe you!!" she turned and fled from the room. He chased after her. Before she could dash into her room he grabbed her arm and whirled her around.

"Look at me, Mai!!" he ordered. Her teary eyes slowly met his and he gave a soft sigh. "I...I wish I wasn't such an ass. Maybe it wouldn't be so easy for him to take you away from me.

"I _know_ that it would be easy for him to take you away. I _know_ that and it scares me, okay? That scares me. When you told me he was back...I was so furious at him that...I almost hit you!" he heard her gasp as she continued to look in his eyes.

"Why?" she asked as the tears began to trail down her cheeks slowly.

"I don't know. The closest I can figure is that I, for some reason, saw you as a bridge to Gene. But I refused to. I couldn't hurt you. That's...that's why..." he couldn't go on as he refused to look her in the eye. He didn't want to see her anger looking at him through her eyes.

"Naru, you are an _idiot_. Gene couldn't take me away. Yes, he's kinder, nicer and definitely easier to talk to...but _you're_ Naru. I couldn't leave you. And no one could take me away." she told him. His eyes widened at her words and she leaned up and pressed her lips against his.

She wasn't surprised when he pulled her as close as he could. She wished that he could talk to her more, and not fight with himself over it. If he had just told her to begin with that he was jealous of Gene, none of this would have happened. She pulled back from the kiss and smiled up at him.

"I need to go clean that broken teacup up." she told him. He smirked before leaning down and kissing her again. She gave a soft moan as his lips made her forget about the teacup and the reason that she had dropped it.

'I'm really getting addicted to this.' they both thought.

* * *

"La la la!!" Deshi sang as he made his teddy bear dance on his lap. Deshi smiled at Mai and Naru as they sat on one side of his bed as his parents sat on the other side.

"He's been singing and talking all day. The doctors find it cute." Madoka said before Lin sighed.

"It would be nice if he would allow his father a reprieve and let him sleep." Lin said as he sent a playful glare at his son. The boy giggled happily.

"No way, José!" the boy cried happily. Both his parents sighed in exasperation.

"He's back!"

* * *

Ah, a little bit of drama for our other couple. I wonder what will come next. Of course, that's for me to know and for you to find out. If you review that is. So after reading this, tell me what you think and all that! I loved checking and seeing I have like twenty reviews that I need to read! Hope you all keep reviewing! And happy reading! Kieno0324! 


	5. Chapter 4: Ways of the Sinister

Although Mai wasn't exactly comfortable with it, Naru had insisted she stay with him in his room. The first night she had been nervous. He had obviously read her mind and didn't touch her. The next morning she found his arm draped around her waist. She had enjoyed the warmth and felt silly for thinking that Naru would push her. He had already assured her that he wouldn't.

'I don't want to get up. I want to stay here with Naru like this.' Mai thought as she lay curled up against his side. He was still sleeping soundly and she felt warm and safe in his arms. She moved slightly so that she could look over his shoulder and at the clock on the nightstand. She sighed as she saw that it was nine o'clock in the morning. It was time to try and wake Naru up.

"Naru?" she whispered as she shook him gently. He groaned and moved away from her hand. She sighed before smiling. She pressed her lips against his and she gave a muffled sound as he rolled over on top of her. He pulled back and she looked up at him breathlessly and saw that he was smirking down at her, very much wide awake.

"Good morning." he told her. She rolled her eyes before pushing him off of her and she slipped out of the bed. She grabbed her clothes, which she had moved into his room, and headed for the door.

"You need to start getting ready. Madoka said that they were going to release Deshi at noon. We need to get to the hospital in time to pick them up. Do you think it's safe to bring him back here? What if the ghost tries to attack him again?" Mai asked as she stopped at the bedroom door.

"He'll be alright as long as Lin keeps one of his Shiki with Deshi all the time. And as long as Deshi doesn't make the Shiki attack the ghost. It may be better to keep him in the base and put a protective charm on the base." he told her. She nodded in agreement.

"Right. Alright. I'm going to go get ready." she said with a smile before slipping out of the bedroom and heading towards the bathroom. She couldn't wipe the smile from her face. She felt so relaxed after sleeping with Naru. She realized that she had been so nervous for absolutely no reason.

* * *

"There's the miniature Lin!" Takigawa laughed as Deshi toddled into the base as he held onto his father's hand tightly. The boy wouldn't let his father or his mother or Mai out of his sight. Which would explain why Mai's hand was clasped tightly in his other hand. 

"Nincompoop." Deshi stuck his tongue out at Takigawa. The monk blinked in surprise before looking at the boy's mother who was trying her hardest not to laugh. He glared at her and she continued to giggle.

"H-He...learned it...from Ayako!" she giggled and Lin shook his head at her. Mai shrugged her shoulders with a bright smile as Ayako just held her hands up.

"Mai, tea." Naru said as he took his seat. Mai rolled her eyes as she released Deshi's hand before someone else spoke to her.

"Mai, sea!" she turned and saw that Deshi had his arms crossed and was trying his hardest to look like Naru. But failing completely as his mouth was wanting to smile as he was trying to frown.

"Naru, you're giving him a bad habit!" Mai scolded the cold young man. Naru smirked and shrugged. Deshi repeated the action and Madoka sighed softly.

"Why are you corrupting my son?" she fake sobbed. Naru rolled his eyes at the woman before turning back to his work.

"I believe I left your assignments for you. You can watch the tapes and record any findings, Madoka, Lin." he told the adults and they both sighed. Everyone else scurried to perform their duties and Mai went to fetch Naru his tea. She was rather glad to have Deshi back, it brought the sense of normalcy back to the case.

She entered the base as she balanced Naru's cup carefully. She felt a smile spread across her face as she saw that Madoka was rocking a sleepy Deshi in a rocking chair that they had asked be placed in the base for that very reason.

"Here." Mai whispered. Naru nodded before handing Mai the notes that Takigawa had taken while they had been at the hospital.

"Read those and see if anything catches your attention, alright?" he told her. She managed a nod before she began to flip through the notes. She silently wished that Takigawa had neater handwriting. At least it wasn't Naru's handwriting, any attempt he made at writing in Kanji was a complete disaster.

'Be thankful for the small miracles.' she thought as she continued to read the notes. She made circles around the parts that caught her attention as she read through them. She looked up as Madoka stood up and placed Deshi on the cot.

"Will you come help me make his medicine, Koujo?" Madoka asked. Lin nodded before he stood up and followed her out of the base. Mai stood up and retrieved Deshi's bear before taking it to him and he wrapped his chubby arms around the stuffed animal.

She returned to the notes and resumed her work before gasping. She felt Naru turn to look at her. She motioned him over and he stood up. He glanced over her shoulder at the part she was reading, even though he wasn't exactly sure what the symbols were saying.

"The chef's assistant was attacked seven times by that black entity. She's getting ready to leave because of it. That's horrible. It's pushed her down staircases and locked her in airtight rooms. It's almost killed her once or twice." Mai whispered. Naru frowned before nodding.

"Takigawa mentioned her. Apparently she has a very weak sensitivity and the entity felt that. Takigawa and Ayako are making you and Masako protective charms as you are both sensitive to ghosts." Naru told her. She nodded in understanding before sighing.

"It seems that while the dark entity doesn't like psychics, the other ghosts have no problem with torturing other people in this house. Could a demon be controlling the other ghosts?" she asked. He nodded.

"A source demon, like what I believe this is, doesn't have to use much energy to control other ghosts. However, I would prefer to wait for the rest of Yasuhara's information before making a formal decision on what this could be." he told her. She nodded before smiling brightly.

"Right!" she giggled before he held his teacup out and she sighed. "Yeah, I know, I know. 'Mai, tea!' Geez, don't you drink anything else?" she asked grumpily as she took the teacup. She didn't wait for his reply as she made her way to the kitchen. She frowned as she saw the door was closed. She knew the chef had gone into labor and delivered her baby but the woman's assistant rarely kept the door closed.

Mai reached out and gently opened the door and stopped as the door hit an article of clothing. A shirt to be more exact. Mai frowned in confusion, she had seen that shirt somewhere before. But where?

'Wait a minute! That's the shirt Madoka was wearing earlier!' she thought. She felt her eyes go even wider as a bra landed on top of the shirt and she heard a groan. 'Oh, boy. Time to go! Time to go!' Mai closed the door and dashed back to the base as her face flared.

"What's wrong?" Naru asked. Mai was rather flushed and she held his still empty teacup. Why was she so flustered? She looked as though she had just ran from the kitchen to the base as fast as she could.

"Madoka...Lin...shirt...bra...floor!" she managed before shaking her head. That made the second time she had walked in on them! 'At least you didn't see anything.' a voice said inside of her head and she gave a soft groan. She really hadn't wanted to see what little she had seen!

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked. He could feel a tint on his cheeks and he tried to push it down. With no success.

"They're trying to give that a little sister or brother, if you know what I mean!" she told him as she pointed at Deshi. Naru shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Let's not talk about this ever again." Naru decided. Mai hastily nodded in agreement. She would rather not have to talk about it ever again but she knew she would think of it every time she looked at Lin and Madoka now!

'Couldn't they control their hormones?' Mai asked herself as she reclaimed her seat. She could see Naru glaring at his empty teacup. She sighed, he wanted tea and his mentor and former assistant was preventing her from making it. And if he suggested that she go make it anyway she decided she would throw him out the window, no matter they were two stories up.

"Ayako should be returning with your protective charm in a few moments." he told her. She nodded before turning back to the notes and finished reading them quickly before looking up as Ayako entered the base with Takigawa.

"Did you know Madoka-" Ayako started.

"Yes, don't say it!!" Mai jumped in. Ayako shook her head before going over to the girl and holding a necklace out. It was a silver necklace with a teardrop diamond hanging from the chain. Mai raised an eyebrow and Ayako shrugged her shoulders.

"Naru asked me to put the protective charm on this and give it to you." Ayako said with a gentle smile. Mai blushed as she took the necklace. She walked over to Naru with the necklace in her hand. She held it out to him and he looked up at her.

"You gave it to me. Shouldn't you be the one to put it on me?" she asked with a gentle smile. He stood up and gently took the necklace from her hand. He turned her around so that he could clasp the necklace around her throat. She smiled over her shoulder at him.

"Thank you, Naru." she whispered softly. He nodded and she returned to her seat with a blush on her face. She hadn't expected such a gift but she was glad for it. She sat down and Ayako winked at her.

"I was surprised when he gave me that necklace and told me to put the protective charm on it. I realized what he was trying to do after he gave me that necklace. It looks lovely on you." Ayako told her. Mai blushed as she bit her lip.

"Thank you." she told the woman as she glanced at Naru who was rather involved in his laptop. Or was trying to look as though he were involved by the computer. She knew better than to think he wasn't listening.

"We're going to go give Masako her charm." Ayako said before dragging Takigawa out. He cried out at the sudden pull on his arm before the door closed behind them.

Mai stood up once more and walked over to Naru. He stood up and pulled her close. She smiled up at him before reaching up and bringing his head down to hers. Their lips met in a gentle kiss. Mai giggled as Naru's hands brushed against a ticklish spot on her side. She pulled away and he rolled his eyes.

"You are the most ticklish person I have ever met." he told her and she just giggled before pulling away from him.

"You are a wonderful person, Naru. Thank you for the gift." she told him with a light blush. He just smirked darkly and she knew what coming. She knew he would have kissed her again if Lin and Madoka hadn't entered the base with Deshi's medicine at that moment.

Mai noticed that Madoka was still buttoning her shirt up and Mai looked away as she saw that Lin's cheeks were slightly flushed. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to face them again after having almost walked in on them. She glanced at them out of the corner of her eyes. The two seemed to realize that the younger couple was staring at them.

"Is something wrong?" Madoka asked with a bright smile on her face. Mai tried to return it but her face was turning red as she looked at the obviously disheveled couple. The couple seemed to realize _why_ the young girl was turning red and they exchanged a look that clearly said 'Oh, no.'.

"Nothing! Would either of you like tea?" Mai asked as she took Naru's teacup. She didn't wait for a reply as she dashed out of the room and down to the kitchen. She had never felt so embarrassed in her whole time of being with SPR. She went into the kitchen and began to make the tea as she tried to not think of what had been going on in there only moments before.

"_Help...me..._" a voice suddenly whimpered. Mai turned and felt her breath catch as she saw a white orb floating in front of her. She gulped. She wasn't sure what to do. "_Please...help me..._" the voice came from the orb.

Mai bit her lip before she decided to follow the orb. She slowly followed it out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going but she kept following the orb. She stopped as the orb stopped at a ladder.

'It wants me to go up there.' she thought before reaching out and grabbing one of the rungs. 'I've come this far, might as well as continue on. It doesn't look like anyway has been in this part of the house for years.'

She began to climb the ladder and found herself in what looked like an attic. She gently pulled herself onto the floor from the ladder. She stood up and felt the wood beneath her feet weaken slightly. She stayed still as she looked around at the antiques that were in the attic.

"This is amazing." she whispered softly. The orb was hovering over a chest. Mai gently picker her way across the rotting floor to the chest. She saw that the lock on the chest was rusted away, probably gone for a long time. Mai reached down and opened the chest. She gasped in horror at the sight that met her eyes.

A skeleton dressed in a bride's dress was in the chest. And on the skeleton's chest was a splattering of blood. Mai put her hand to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes as she looked at the skeleton.

'This is horrible.' Mai thought as the tears began to spill. 'Who could do such a horrible thing?' Mai jumped back as the white orb entered the skeleton. She felt her eyes widen as the skeleton began to grow skin and hair, leaving a young woman with blonde hair in the chest blinking. Mai moved back as the woman sat up.

"AAHHH!!!" Mai screamed before the floor suddenly gave beneath her weight.

* * *

"When will Yasuhara be coming out?" Madoka asked as she gave Deshi his medicine, having hid the liquid medicine in the boy's juice that he was now drinking from his baby cup. Deshi looked up at Naru as the older man turned to look at Madoka. 

"This weekend. He has quite a bit of information. He only told me of one finding and I wish to look at the other information that he's gathered." Naru told the woman as she sat on the floor with her son as Deshi drank his juice.

"Ba la goo ga sob!" Deshi said with a bright smile. Madoka giggled as Deshi had a look on his face as though he were trying to immediate Naru.

"He is definitely your son." Naru sighed. The woman laughed before tickling her son and he squealed as he tried to crawl away from her. She grabbed his leg and pulled him back to her and she nuzzled his stomach causing him to giggle loudly. He continued to try and get away before Naru suddenly frowned and looked at the door of the base.

"Where is that girl?" he asked. Lin looked at the door as well before shaking his head.

"She should be back by now. She may have gotten sidetracked." Lin told him. Naru frowned before turning back to his work. He felt a twinge of worry in his heart. Something wasn't right. He wasn't exactly happy about letting Mai out of his sight in this house. Especially after the last time she had been in the house by herself.

"Mai!! MAI!!" Deshi suddenly began to wail and tears began to spill down his cheeks. The three adults looked at the baby as he continued to wail. Madoka picked up her son as he continued to wail into his mother's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Deshi?" Madoka asked her son as she tried to calm the boy down. He continued to wail in his mother's shoulder as she patted his back. She rubbed his back up and down before looking at Lin who stood up and went over to her. He placed his hand on his distraught son's hand.

"Mai! Mai!" the boy continued to say, obviously trying to convey something that they couldn't understand.

"What about Mai?" Naru suddenly asked. Deshi looked at Naru with wet cheeks and overflowing eyes. He was very much upset.

"Mai dan! Mai dan!" the boy said. Naru frowned, not understanding. What was the boy trying to tell them?

"Danger?" Lin suddenly said. His son looked at him and nodded before wailing again.

"Mai!! Mai!" he cried loudly as his mother hugged him tightly again.

Naru felt his eyes widen as Deshi's message finally made sense. He could feel his heart beating a hundred miles per hour. How could Deshi know something like that when he had been with them the whole time?

"AAHHH!!" a scream echoed through the house. Naru was out of the base in a minute. He ran towards the scream with his heart beating in his throat. He knew that voice to well.

"MAI!"

* * *

Oooh, cliffhanger. I have a new game. At the end of each chapter I will ask a question or two...give me your replies. It's always fun to guess what may be in my mind! Good luck! And review as well! 

Question 1: Why do you think Deshi is trying to act like Naru?

Question 2: Who do you think the female ghost is?

Have fun! And the best thing to be...is creative! Kieno0324


	6. Chapter 5: Ways of the Sinister

Mai was expecting to feel some sort of impact. But nothing. She looked up and felt her eyes widen. The woman from the chest was holding her hand and preventing her from falling to the ground. She squeaked as the female pulled her up back into the attic. Mai stared at her.

"You...but...you were..." Mai stumbled and the girl smiled with a nod.

"I'm dead. But for some reason after I was killed I was able to go back and possess my body. I was never able to escape that chest. But thank you for letting me out." the girl said brightly and Mai sighed.

"Shouldn't you be able to move on?" Mai asked. The girl shook her head with a sad smile on her face.

"I can't leave without him." the girl said before they both jumped as somebody called Mai's name. The girl carefully crawled over to the hole in the floor that she had created. She was met by deep blue eyes and she gave a soft sigh.

"We need a ladder. There's someone up here that I think you need to meet." Mai said as she looked over her shoulder at the innocently smiling dead woman. This was going to be a hard one to explain.

* * *

Mai sat with the dead woman as everyone gathered around. When Masako entered the room Mai saw the girl gasp. She just shook her head before taking a seat beside John.

"Alright. Um, what's your name?" Mai asked and the blonde haired girl gave another innocent smile.

"Elaine. Do you want me to tell my story or would you like to explain first?" the girl asked. Mai gave a soft sigh.

"I'll explain first." Mai told her. The girl turned to her friends and explained about the white orb and what had happened when she opened the chest in the attic. Everyone seemed to be much more interested in Elaine when Mai told them the girl had been a skeleton only hours before.

"Teddy?" Deshi held his bear out to Elaine and she gave him a gentle smile. Mai saw Madoka staring at her son with a 'Why-are-you-talking-to-the-dead-lady?' look. Mai almost laughed but kept from doing so.

"That's sweet, but I think Teddy would be happier with you." Elaine said. Deshi nodded before he toddled over to Masako and tried to give the bear to her. She gave a small laugh before taking the bear and the boy holding it and placing them on her lap.

"If you'll be good I'll see if your mommy will let me make you some chocolate milk." Masako bribed the young boy and he suddenly went still.

"Would you tell us your story?" Mai asked gently. Elaine nodded in agreement before she fell silent as she was obviously thinking and then she began to speak.

"My father was very rich in the 1800s and he married my mother, a German lady that was also from old money. I am quite sure that the only reason that they had me was to settle the need for an heir to the money. They betrothed me to another man that was of old money.

"He and I never liked each other. We fought like cats and dogs until one day...we fell in love for a reason I still don't understand. Mark was a doctor and during that day and age the Bubonic Plague was sweeping through Japan. There was a young child that was ill with it and Mark wouldn't leave his side, had promise not to leave his side, until the child pass. That's when I fell in love with him. He was so loyal to that child.

"I realized then that I could spend my life with him. Things were a haze then until my father started making an uproar about the wedding. He suddenly didn't want me near Mark or even marrying him. He didn't get a chance to do anything about it as he suddenly disappeared. They found his body three days later.

"My cousin, Amelia, and her lover, who was rumored to be a demon, were found stabbed to death in their bed the day after he was found. Mark and I realized after that we wanted to leave the house as quickly as we could and get away from everything that was going on.

"We had planned on eloping. I was getting ready. I remember walking towards the front door, to meet him, before I heard a bang and there was a searing pain in my chest. The next thing I knew was that I was looking at my body in the chest in the attic.

"Mai was the first person that was ever able to hear my plea for help and actually see me." Elaine smiled at Mai gratefully.

"How do you know that Mark hasn't moved on already?" Naru suddenly asked and Elaine looked at him with doleful blue eyes.

"Because, before I hit the floor I saw dead brown eyes that could only belong to one person. Mark was murdered before I was. I can sense that his spirit is trapped here but something is preventing him from coming to me. It's also preventing me for going to him." Elaine whispered sadly. Mai looked at Naru wide eyed.

"Could the black entity be the cause of all this?" she asked. Naru nodded with a frown his face as his brain began to put the pieces together.

"Yes. The black entity could have very well been the one that killed everyone." he told her and Ayako spoke up.

"True. It is believed that if a person commits a murder that their soul turns black. The black entity could have committed so many murders, like Urado, that the soul became a demon that still searches for victims. It targets those that can sense it and could get rid of it." Ayako told them. Elaine gave a soft sigh.

"Do you have any idea who could have committed these crimes that may have worked for you family?" Takigawa asked the young dead woman.

"No. There were a lot of people that worked for my mother and father but I never got to know them very well. My parents pretty much kept me locked up unless I was with Mark." Elaine said sadly.

"No theory?" Mai asked gently. Elaine remained quiet for a moment as she thought. Her eyes suddenly went wide before she answered.

"There was the chef's assistant. He was a young boy that I had played with when I was young, before my parents forbid me to visit the servants anymore. He was rather handsome as we grew up but I was never allowed to talk to him. He was always following me though, it was kind of scary so I started to spend a lot more time with Mark so I wouldn't have to stay in the house." Elaine whispered.

"Did you tell anyone that you were planning on eloping with Mark?" Mai continued gently. She knew better than to let Naru interrogate the woman, he was still Naru and therefore harsh towards others.

"Just Amelia and Carson, her lover. They were going to come with us to sign the papers as witnesses. Unless she told someone else, I didn't tell anybody." Elaine said as she wiped her eyes.

"What was the boy's name?" Mai asked. Elaine gave a soft sigh as she tried to remember.

"Kerry. His name was Kerry. Oh, no. Carson was close to the chef for some reason. He may have let it slip to the chef." Elaine said in horror as she covered her mouth.

"And the chef could have very well told Kerry. He must have been jealous. From the sounds of it he had fallen in love with you, but you were in love with Mark." Masako said as she continued to hold Deshi. The boy was acting like he was trying to listen but he obviously didn't understand anything that was going on around him. That much was for certain.

"I'm sorry if that was how it was but I love Mark. Why on earth would have he killed my cousin and Carson?" Elaine asked softly.

"Because they were going with you to bless the marriage. He probably killed your father as well because he had arranged the marriage to begin with. When all else failed her killed Mark and when you walked in he murdered you." Mai whispered softly. Elaine shook her head as her jaw clenched.

"I can't believe I played with such a horrid person!" Elaine said. Everyone nodded in agreement before Madoka stepped forward.

"Why don't we get you in some different clothes? I think it might be a bit odd to have you walking around in an eighteenth century wedding dress. We're about the same size, I'll give you some clothes to wear." Madoka offered. Elaine nodded before looking at Mai and the girl gave her a gentle smile.

"Madoka is nice. You can go with her. She'll bring you back here." Mai promised. Elaine gave a relieved smile before she stood up and followed Madoka who gave her a gentle smile in response before the door closed behind them.

"Choc choc!" Deshi suddenly said. Masako gave a small laugh as did Mai.

"Would it be alright if I made him some chocolate milk, Lin-san?" Masako asked. The older man raised an eyebrow at his son before sighing.

"I'm sorry, Deshi. But the doctors said you couldn't have milk until you healed from the surgery." Lin told his son and the boy's eyes began to tear. He may have not understood what his father was saying but he knew that tone of voice. Masako jumped in again.

"What about some fresh apple juice? The chef made some before she went on leave, didn't she, Mai?" Masako asked the brown haired girl. Mai winked at Deshi and nodded.

"Yes, he did. I'll go get him some." Mai said with a smile. She left the base and dashed to the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen she saw the teakettle and remembered that Naru wanted tea.

She emptied the teakettle and put fresh water in it and placed it on the stove. As she waited for it to whistle she went over to the bag that Madoka had placed in the kitchen with Deshi's kiddy cups. She took the lid off one of the cups before taking the apple juice out of the refrigerator and poured some juice into Deshi's cup before the teakettle whistled.

She went over and poured the water out and proceeded to finish the preparations of Naru's tea. She grabbed both cups and made her way back to the base. She smiled at Huang as she saw the woman sweeping the dining room. The girl smiled back as Mai made her way up the steps and into the base.

"Here's your tea, Naru." she told him. He nodded at her gratefully. Mai then turned to the young boy that had somehow gotten Masako and John into the floor and was rolling a ball between the three of them.

"Here's you apple juice, Deshi." she told the young boy. He smiled up at her brightly.

"My Mai!!" he said. She giggled softly and looked over at Naru who was glaring at Deshi in a manner that could be classified as playful. Deshi obviously saw it and returned the glare.

"Alright, you two. You have to get along!" Mai playfully scolded them with her hands on her hips and a smile playing on her lips. Deshi laughed at the look on her face and Naru just shook his head before returning to his work.

"Deshi, come here." Lin told his son. Deshi stood up with John's hand steadying him before he grabbed his juice cup and ran over to his father who pulled him up into his lap. He whispered something into his son's ear and the boy nodded before climbing out of his father's lap and going over to the little chair his parents had brought.

Mai watched as the boy dragged it over beside Naru. Mai suddenly knew what the boy was doing. She and John moved the small coffee table in the base so that it was sitting in front of Deshi's chair. The young boy put his juice cup on the table before running over and grabbing his book. He then ran back to his chair and settled into it with the book opened as he tried to read it. Every time Naru took a drink of tea, Deshi took a drink of juice. Mai couldn't help but giggle.

"What did you tell him?" Naru asked coolly of the boy's father. Lin raised an eyebrow at the younger boy before shrugging.

"What makes you think that I'd tell you? It's a secret, right, Deshi?" Lin asked his son and the boy nodded.

"Yes, daddy!" Deshi giggled. Mai just shook her head before she plopped down in Naru's lap causing him to jump in surprise. She patted her lap and Deshi got up from his chair and hopped into Mai's lap and Naru sighed. People were just piling up on him today.

"Can I have a hug?" Mai asked the young boy. He laid his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. Mai gently patted his back as everyone else, except Naru and Lin, 'awed' at the hug.

"What is going on?" they all looked up as Madoka entered the room with Elaine following her. Mai climbed out of Naru's lap with Deshi on her hip. If she hadn't know better, she wouldn't have known that Elaine was from the eighteenth century.

"You look nice, Elaine." Mai told her. The girl looked embarrassed but as she was dead she had no blood and couldn't blush.

"Thank you. Although I'm not used to such a short skirt." Elaine said as she looked at the skirt that Madoka had given her that reached her knees.

"It was the longest thing I had beside pants and she didn't want to wear those." Madoka said with a gentle smile. "Understandable as in those times all women wore were skirts."

"Thank you for allowing me to use your clothes." Elaine thanked her and Madoka nodded.

"You are welcome. Deshi, have you stolen Mai away from Noll?" Madoka asked her son and the boy giggled.

"Yes!" he said. Mai rolled her eyes before she sat down on the floor with Deshi on her lap. Elaine took a place on the couch and Madoka took a seat beside Lin.

"What can you tell us about your cousin, Elaine?" Naru suddenly said. The girl looked at him slightly startled before she finally replied.

"Well, she was my father's niece and she was only a year younger than me. My father took her in after her mother and father died. She was about eight and she suddenly disappeared. My father spent nearly four years looking for her until he finally just gave up and said that if she had ran away it was her own decision.

"Six years later she just showed up with a white haired boy with blue eyes. He looked so odd, he looked young but his hair was as white as snow and his eyes were such a light blue that I thought they were from the sky.

"They were married and my father was very upset. He never actually acknowledged them as a married couple. He always referred to Carson as her lover and refused to ever speak to him.

"My cousin would never speak of her time away, almost like she was afraid of it. I even tired to talk to Carson but he always told me that it was Amelia's secret to tell but she was to scared to tell me. She would always clam up if I ever tried to talk about it so I finally gave up." Elaine explained with a kind smile on her face.

"Did you ever believe that Carson was a demon?" Mai asked. Elaine shook her head as the smile remained on her face.

"No. He was a good person, just different in looks. He and Mark became good friends and he usually helped Mark in his work. It seemed that everything was going well...until all just crumbled down." Elaine shook her head.

"Would you give us a tour of the house? It may give me more to work with." Masako suddenly asked. Elaine nodded before she stood up. John, Masako, Ayako, and Takigawa all followed her out of the base to look through the house once more.

"What do you think, Noll?" Madoka asked the man as Mai handed her Deshi. His eyes were drooping and she knew that he was on the edge of sleep. She placed his head on her shoulder and began to pat his hair causing him to yawn widely as his eyes closed.

"Elaine supported the story that Yasuhara found. However, Masako didn't react to her as though she were the black entity that is causing the disturbances. Neither did Deshi. I believe Deshi is a medium and can sense whether a ghost is good or evil." Naru said.

"That would explain why he tried to give Elaine his teddy bear. He knows she's a good person, even if she is a ghost. The real question now is whether or not Kerry is the one that caused all this." Mai replied. Naru sighed before he looked at Mai.

"I'll contact Yasuhara and see if he can find anything out about him." Naru told her. She gave him a bright smile before leaning down and kissing his cheek causing him to look away from Lin and Madoka who were smirking at him.

"Mai..." he hissed softly. She just giggled happily as she moved away from him. He glared at her and she just shrugged before the door to the base suddenly opened and a tall man with black hair that was graying and slanted eyes. Mai instantly didn't like him as Lin stood up. She saw that Lin's eyes were narrowed and she saw how he was standing in front of Madoka and Deshi, almost as though he didn't want the visitor to see his family.

"Wei, I wasn't sure if you would be in the house while we were here." Lin said coolly. Mai didn't like the smile that spread across Wei's face. Almost as though he were amused by Lin.

"The moment your mother called and told me you were out here I knew I had to leave America and welcome you to my home." Wei said. Mai moved closer to Naru as Wei's voice was slimy to her ears.

"I see." Lin said.

"I'm going to put Deshi to bed." Madoka said as she stood up with Deshi in her arms. She stopped as Wei smiled at her and she swallowed as a shiver went down her spine.

"Is this your wife and son?" Wei asked. Lin moved between him and Madoka as Wei reached out to touch Madoka. Lin narrowed his eyes even more.

"I wasn't able to stop you twenty years ago from hurting my mother. _You won't touch my wife or child._" he hissed softly. Wei moved back from Lin and Madoka made her way to the door with Deshi close to her chest as she left the base.

"Still in the past, Koujo?" Wei laughed. Lin gritted his teeth before he felt a touch on his arm. He looked down to see Mai standing there and he relaxed slightly.

"We're working right now, Wei-san. Would you please exit so we may continue with our work?" Mai said. Wei eyed her and Lin moved slightly in front of her. He saw that Naru had stood up from his own chair.

"And you are?" the man asked with a lecherous grin. Mai narrowed her eyes at the man. She had enough of him already.

"That is none of your concern." Naru spoke up. Mai looked over her shoulder at him. "I am Oliver Davis, CEO of the Japanese SPR. I will be the one you will be dealing with. My assistant was right, we are rather busy and will call you back when we need your help."

"Very well." Wei nodded before turning and leaving the base. Mai gave a sigh of relief before she turned to Lin. She didn't get a chance to speak.

"LIN!!!"

"DADDY!! DADDY!!" Deshi ran into the base and grabbed his father's hand and started to pull him towards the door.

"What is it Deshi?" Mai asked as they began to follow the boy. They reached the steps and Mai gasped as Madoka lay at the bottom of the steps.

"Madoka!" Lin rushed to the woman as Naru picked Deshi up as the boy wailed.

"I'll call an ambulance!" Mai cried as she ran back to the base.

* * *

"She has a mild concussion." the doctor told Lin, Naru, and Mai. Deshi was with Ayako and Takigawa in the waiting room.

"Is that all?" Naru asked. The doctor looked at Lin with sad eyes.

"No. She miscarried."

* * *

Ooooohhhhh, what's going to happen now? You'll have to wait to find out!

Okay, here's the next question game!

Q1: Do you think Madoka knew about the pregnancy?

Q2: What may have Wei done to Lin's mother?

Remember to review! All answers can be read in the reviews, I do suggest you read them, some are very good! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Kieno0324


	7. Chapter 6: Ways of the Sinister

"_She miscarried_."

Mai watched as Lin turned pale. He fell into a chair that was thankfully behind him. He hadn't known, she realized. There was no way that he had known. Mai looked at the doctor as another thought struck her.

"How far...was she?" Mai asked. Had Madoka known about the pregnancy? Wouldn't she have told Lin if she had known? Or maybe she hadn't told him because of the man's worries about her safely delivering.

"She was three months. I wouldn't have known to do a test if she hadn't asked about her baby when she was first brought in. She was bleeding, probably from falling down the steps, and we weren't able to stop it. I am very sorry, Lin-san." the doctor told the shocked man. Lin didn't answer and Mai thanked her and she nodded before leaving the private waiting room she had asked to talk to them in.

"Lin-san?" Mai asked the stunned man. He suddenly jerked and seemed to come to life as he began to shake. Mai reached out and gently touched his shoulder in hopes to calm him down.

"Deshi. I need to go get Deshi. I have...Deshi." he managed and Mai sent a look at Naru and he nodded.

"I'll go get him, Lin. Stay here in case the doctor needs to talk to you again." Naru told him. Naru quickly left the room.

Mai was slightly shocked to see tears in Lin's eyes before he bent forward so that his head was almost touching his knees. Mai watched as he reached up and clutched his head. She felt her heart break as she heard his ragged breathing as he was obviously trying to keep from crying. Mai reached out and placed a comforting, or what she hoped was comforting, hand on the older man's shoulder.

"What could it have been?" Lin whispered in a ragged voice. Mai stayed silent as the man stood up. She watched as he hit a wall. She knew that he needed to let it out and she was glad that Naru was taking his time in retrieving Deshi. Apparently Naru knew the man needed to let it out.

"What if it had been a girl? Or another boy? A little brother for Deshi." Lin hissed before he turned and slid down the floor. Mai watched as he rested his head against the wall and tears slowly trailed down the sides of his face. She stood up, deciding it was time to bring some tough love.

"Lin-san!" he looked at her and she bit the inside of her cheek. He looked so miserable. But she had to do this. "I know this is hard. I can't imagine what you're going through. But you're wife needs you, she's going through the same thing. So you need to pull yourself together and be there for her _and_ Deshi." she told him. She saw his eyes widen before he slowly nodded.

"You're right." he finally replied. She gave a small smile before the door to the room opened and Deshi ran in and to his father and jumped into his arms. Lin wrapped his arms around his son tightly, taking comfort from the small form he held. He had his son.

"Daddy!!" Deshi cried into his father's shoulder. Lin just held his son before Mai followed Naru out of the private waiting room and closing the door behind her. It was only when she was out of Lin's sight and hearing that she began to cry. She was pulled close to Naru and she sobbed into his chest.

"It's...horrible!!" Mai sobbed softly into his chest. Naru just rubbed her back comfortingly in hopes to calm her down.

* * *

"NO!!!" Madoka screamed after the doctor told her the news. She struggled against Lin as he tried to hug her but he wouldn't let her go. "No!! My...my baby! No...god, no!!" she sobbed as she finally went limp in Lin's arms.

Lin closed his eyes as tears once again spilled from his own eyes. It was tearing him apart and he knew it was tearing Madoka apart. Madoka's sobs weren't soft nor loud, as though she wanted to people hear, they were ragged and heartbreaking.

"I'm here, Madoka. I'm here, we'll be okay." he told her. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and refused to let go and he wasn't letting her go. Her sobs died down to a soft sobbing as she lay against him.

"I didn't...even...get to...tell you..." she whispered. Lin tightened his arms around her as he kissed her head. His eyes were still wet. He couldn't understand why it had happened. He knew how it had happened. The doctor had told him the trauma of the accident had pressed on the womb and caused Madoka to bleed and miscarry the baby.

"Just focus on getting better." he told her as he pulled back slightly. She blinked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I don't think I can." she whimpered before he crushed her to him. He leaned down and moved his mouth to her ear.

"You have to for Deshi. For me." he whispered. She gave a soft sigh before she lay back on her hospital pillows and he gently took her hand while brushing her bangs back.

"I'll try." she whispered. "I promise I'll try." she whispered before she closed her eyes and Lin closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He wished that he had some sort of guidance.

* * *

"Mommy..." Deshi whimpered in his sleep. Mai gently pulled him close to her. She had offered to take care of Deshi while Madoka was in the hospital. Lin had agreed, obviously knowing that he and Madoka would be dealing with things that they didn't want Deshi to know about.

"It's alright, Deshi." Mai whispered and he calmed in his sleep. Naru reached out and gently rubbed the boys back causing Deshi to turn in his sleep towards him. Mai looked up at Naru and he met her eyes over the sleeping child's head.

"Lin asked that we keep Wei away from Deshi." Mai whispered. Naru nodded as he continued to rub the boy's back. He understood perfectly well what Lin mean. Naru wasn't to thrilled about the way the old Chinese man had been looking at Mai. Almost as though he would give anything to do something unpleasant to her.

"He can stay in the base with you. It may be best as you have a protective charm on and some of power from it would protect him as well." Naru said. Mai nodded in agreement before eyes began to droop. She gently placed her hand over Naru's before her eyes slipped closed and she fell asleep.

Naru watched the two sleep. He allowed a smile to spread across his lips as Deshi cuddled up against Mai. The boy may have, for some odd reason, started to like acting like him but Naru found that as much as he protested it he really didn't mind. They boy was conniving like his mother and knew how to get what he wanted. Naru let another smile slip onto his mouth before he began to fall asleep as well. Deshi would be a good person.

* * *

"Gene?" Mai called as she realized that she was dreaming. She wasn't surprised when Gene suddenly appeared in front of her. She blinked and shook her head as she saw he was wearing a large pink hat with a big pink feather on top of it and looked rather pleased with himself over the fact that he was wearing it.

"Where on earth did you get _that_?" she asked, slightly horrified. She could just imagine what Naru would think of his brother if he saw him in that hat.

"I just found it. It's different, right?" he said with that smile. Mai shook her head as she let out a little laugh.

"On so many levels that it's wrong." she whispered before she began to laugh and he did as well. She was finding it hard to breath and he just smiled at her. She finally managed to calm down and wiped her tears as he pulled the hat off.

"I needed that." she whispered. He nodded in understanding.

"I know. You've all had a pretty rough day." he told her. Mai gave a soft sigh as she joined him where he was sitting on the steps.

"I just wish that hadn't happened to Madoka. She wanted that child so much and so did Lin. I mean when he was talking about how Madoka was talking about another child I thought she may be pregnant. But I didn't say anything, I certainly didn't want to spoil the surprise for her.

"But now...now I wished I _had_ said something. What if I had been able to prevent her from falling down the steps because Lin went with her because she was pregnant?" she asked. Gene gently put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Mai, nothing could have stopped that black entity from pushing her down the steps." Gene told her. He watched as her eyes went wide before she looked at him shocked.

"The entity pushed her down the steps? _Why_?" she cried. Gene sighed as he tried to think of an explanation before finally settling on the truth.

"Because, Deshi will become a perfect medium, much like I was when I was alive. I've had a connection with him ever since I came back. I've been able to steer him away from the entity thus far. But he was sleepy when the entity came after Madoka and by the time she had put him down, because he was fussing at being carried, it was to late for me to warn him and the entity had pushed her down the stairs." Gene explained. He watched Mai blinked as she processed everything.

"You have a connection with Deshi?" she asked as the first coherent thing came to min.

"Yes, because he is a medium. Although he seems to have a bit more power than I did as he is able to control Lin's Shiki, those things hated me. They were always hiding my shoes." Gene pouted and Mai gave a small giggle before the laugh faded.

"That would explain why Deshi's having nightmares. He saw his mother being pushed down the steps by something he doesn't understand what it is. He must have been so terrified." Mai whispered. Gene gave a soft sigh.

"I would imagine so." he replied. The silence settled on them for a few moments before Gene spoke up once more. "What have you learned from Elaine?"

"That the information Yasuhara gave us is correct and we think we may have identified the source demon although Naru wants to do more investigation to make sure it's really that person." she told him. He nodded in agreement before turning to look at her with solemn eyes.

"Mai, a source demon is very strong and can play on your senses, make even the strongest psychics see things that aren't really there. Elaine will be very useful in these case as she is a ghost and can see the others. If you aren't sure of what you're seeing, I _implore_ you to ask for her assistance." he told her. She nodded in understanding, Masako had pretty much told her the same thing after they had returned from the hospital.

"I know. I just wish we could find Mark's spirit and reunite Elaine with him. I can see that she still loves him dearly even though they never got to live their life together." she whispered sadly. Gene fell back onto the steps and Mai turned to look at him.

"You learn to go on. When you lose the one that you love to death or even someone else. It hurts terribly but you learn to do it. You sometimes wonder why you're able to exist without that person, how you were able to ever survive losing them. But then it just sort of sinks in that each day is passing by and that you're living them or as close as you can when you're a ghost.

"I won't say it's easy to accept but when you're a ghost, there's really nothing else you can do." he finished. Mai felt tears in her eyes as she stared at the older boy, he would be nineteen now if he was still alive. But though he still looked identical to Naru there were now a few differences. His chin wasn't as defined and his eyes weren't as dark as Naru's. His features were still those of a fifteen year old boy's while Naru's was that of a nineteen year old man.

"Oh, Gene. I wish I could do something to let you live again." she whispered and he chuckled. He sat back up and shook his head.

"It wouldn't do me any good. You're already with Noll and I'm content." he told her and she frowned before touching his hand that rested on the step.

"But are you happy?" she whispered. He just smiled at her before leaning down to her ear as she felt true sleep tugging at her conscious.

"I'm content."

* * *

Mai felt something poking her nose. She made a face at the sensation and tried to whap it away. But with no luck. It continued to poke her and she opened her eyes. Staring at her were two grey eyes and a small finger was poking her nose. She frowned before motioning at what was supposed to be a sleeping Naru. She felt a grin spread across her face.

"Why don't you get Naru?" Mai whispered loudly to Deshi. The boy nodded before turning to Naru. He made his way over to the boy and poked his nose. Naru remained unresponsive. Before Deshi could poke him again Naru's eyes snapped open as he began to tickle the boy.

"AAHH!!" the boy screamed in delight as Naru tickled him. Mai gulped as they both suddenly froze and looked at her. She tried to get out of the bed but Naru was much quicker than her and was able to hold her down as Deshi managed to tickle her.

"Let me go! AH!! Hey! STOP!" she laughed as she tried to get away from them before suddenly Naru pressed his lips against hers and she melted into the kiss. He pulled back slowly and she gave a soft sigh.

"EW!!" Deshi said. Mai laughed as she looked Deshi and he giggled.

"Ew to you too." she told him. He giggled before they all climbed out of the bed. Mai began to help him get dressed and he kissed her cheek after she had pulled his shirt on. She gave him a small smile as she hugged him.

"Thank you, Deshi. Now, you can stay with Naru while I get ready, okay?" Mai told him. The boy nodded before walking over to the boy and latching on his leg. Naru looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Na, na!" the boy said happily. Naru just shook his head before looking at Mai. She smiled at him.

"We'll wait on you. I don't want you walking around this house by yourself, especially with that entity roaming about targeting the psychics. I've already told Masako she needs to be accompanied most of the time as well." Naru told her. She nodded in understanding before gathering her clothes and heading to the bathroom. She quickly showered and got ready before going back to the bedroom and meeting the other two and they made their way to the base.

"Hey, Naru. Yasuhara called and said that he'd be here around noon tomorrow, said that he was going to make one last stop at the library before coming on over." Takigawa said. He had taken Lin's place at the computer and had obviously been going over the tapes from the night before.

"Deshi, why don't we make mommy a 'Get Well' card? I have all sorts of crafts and things." Mai told him. He nodded in agreement before running over and grabbing Elaine's hand and the girl gave a soft laugh.

"I would be more than happy to help, young sir." she said in a prim voice before allowing herself to be dragged to the coffee table where Mai was setting everything up. Deshi then proceeded to drag Ayako and Masako to the table as well and they were all amused as Deshi plopped himself between Mai and Masako.

"Alright, fire away." Mai told him. They all helped Deshi make the card, and while it was rather messy everyone in the room knew the parents would appreciate the thought.

* * *

"You have a visitor." Mai stuck her head into the hospital room. Madoka managed a sad smile that held no happiness. Lin nodded before Mai jumped into the room and Deshi followed her with a big grin on his face. Madoka gave the same listless smile as she held her arms out and the boy ran to the bed and climbed up it and into them.

"There's my boy. Have you been good for Mai and Noll?" Madoka asked. Mai felt her heartbreak at the tone of Madoka's voice. She looked up as Naru wrapped his arm around her shoulders before she turned her attention back to Madoka and Deshi.

"Made you card." Deshi said as he held up the glitter covered card with 'Get Well' written on it Elaine's old time script. Madoka smile at her son before kissing him on the forehead.

"Thank you, Deshi. That was very thoughtful." Madoka managed as tears welled in her eyes. When Deshi tried to kiss her she turned her head. Mai bit her lip as she looked at Lin. He shook his head and Mai held her hand out to Deshi as he looked at his mother sad.

"Why don't we go get something to drink Deshi and come back? I think your mommy's tired." Mai whispered. Deshi nodded before climbing off the bed and taking Mai and Naru's hands and they walked out of the hospital room. Lin looked at his wife and she gave a soft sigh.

"I'm a horrible mother!" she sobbed into her hands. He moved to sit beside her and gathered her in his arms.

"No, you aren't." he whispered and she gave a soft sob.

"I can't help but think what his sibling would have looked like. I can't get our baby off my mind. I wanted it so much, Koujo. I wanted the baby so much!" she sobbed into his chest as she clutched his shirt tightly.

"We have Deshi. And once you get better, we can try again, Madoka. The baby is somewhere in heaven." he told her. She bit her lips as the tears trailed down her face.

"I don't want to keep calling it the baby. I think it would have been a little girl...so I want to call her...Bo for precious." she whispered. He nodded with a small smile on his face.

"Bo it is then. Now we have to focus on the future. We can mourn and we can love the son we have and any other babies we have. But now, Deshi is our priority. Our family is our priority." he told her. She nodded in agreement before she leaned against his shoulder and he held her gently.

"You're right. We have Deshi and that's a miracle. Maybe God saw there was something wrong with Bo before she could be born and took her to heaven before she could suffer." Madoka whispered. Lin tightened his arms around her before pulling back and gently kissing her.

"That's definitely a positive way to think of it. We'll be stronger because of this and better parents for it." he told her and she managed to give him a smile.

"Right." she agreed before they both looked over at the door as it opened again. The trio entered and Madoka held her arms out and Deshi trotted over to her and climbed back into her arms.

"I owe you a kiss, Mister Lin." she told him. He squealed as she kissed him on the cheek and Mai shared a look with Naru. Naru looked at Lin and the older man nodded.

"He'll stay with us tonight." he told them and they nodded in understanding.

* * *

"Wei-san, we need to talk to you about some of the happenings." Naru told the Chinese man as he sat down in the base. Mai tried to ignore the feeling that she was getting from the man. But she knew that she had to listen to what the man said and record even though she had no desire.

"To be honest, Dr. Davis, I haven't experienced anything. I've seen the...consequences of what the spirit has been doing. A few of my people have been serious hurt because of it but besides that I can't say anything else." Wei told the man and Mai blinked. The man's voice sounded different, not as evil it seemed. What had changed in the man? Was it because Lin wasn't anywhere near? Mai shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"I see, what do you know about the previous owners?" Naru asked as Mai wrote the information down. Wei sighed as he leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.

"They were an old Japanese family. Apparently the great-great-great uncle of the man I had bought the house from married a German lady, his daughter, the only heir disappeared after his odd demise. He was found shot to death in the forest just behind the house. Right before his daughter disappeared, his cousin and her lover, I guess, were found stabbed to death in their bed.

"The man seemed rather eager to get rid of the house as he was afraid it would bring bad luck to his family and those beyond. I didn't think anything of it when the maid began to tell me things were moving on their own. But when one said that something had pushed her down the steps, and she was alone at the time, I knew I had to go to someone." Wei said.

"So you went to Lin's mother?" Naru asked. Wei's eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded.

"Yes, I knew she could get me help and it was done on a favor basis. I did her a favor a few years ago and she owed me." he told them. Mai looked up at the man with narrowed eyes.

"What exactly did you do?" she asked him coolly and the man looked at her. He chuckled suddenly and shook his head.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Lin never really wanted to know as he ran off to England shortly afterwards." Wei said. Mai narrowed her eyes at him.

"Stop playing games with us, Wei-san. It would be nice to know what favor you did to be able to acquire our services so easily." Naru spoke in his coldest 'you-don't-want-to-mess-with-me' voice. Wei continued to smile.

They all looked up as Masako and Elaine entered the room with lunch sandwiches on a silver trey. Mai stood up and took the trey from them and set it down. Wei stood up and began to leave the base before stopping at the door and looking back at them with a smirk on his face.

"Do you really wish to know what the favor was, Taniyama-san?" he asked, the slimy voice back. Mai suppressed a shiver as she looked into black eyes. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Elaine had stiffened as she noticed that Wei was there but Mai ignored it for the time being.

"I did ask so the answer would obviously be yes." she told him. She realized that she had been spending way to much time with Naru. She supposed it was the price one paid for working for the guy you loved. His personality was bound to affect her own at some point in time.

"Ah, I suppose you would. Very well. I poisoned his father to death." the door shut behind him as Mai stared at the shut door wide eyed. She turned to Naru and saw that he looked slightly surprised as well. She had heard Masako gasp but Elaine had yet to make any sound or movement at the declaration.

"What a horrid little man! We should leave right now!" Mai gasped angrily. "For all we know he could have pushed Madoka down the stairs just to spite Lin!"

"Mai, calm down. We can't leave. Weren't you the one that was just saying that we should help Elaine find Mark so that she could move on? We aren't doing this for Wei anymore." Mai was glad to notice that Naru had dropped the honorific '-san'. In her opinion the man didn't deserve it after what he had put Lin through.

"Elaine, are you alright?" Masako suddenly asked. Mai turned to look at the woman and saw that she was sitting on the couch, shaking. She was staring at the closed base door in terror and horror. Mai frowned before she repeated Masako's question.

"That man...that man...is Kerry!!"

* * *

Another cliffhanger, though not as evil as the last one. Only one question for this time around.

If Naru could choose (which we all know he can't) what would be his favorite thing about Mai and why?

Remember to review!


	8. Chapter 7: Ways of the Sinister

"What?" Mai asked stunned. Elaine had fallen into her seat with closed eyes and her skin had grown much more pasty than it already was. She looked ill, Mai thought. But there really wasn't anything that they could do for her, after all she was a ghost and ghosts didn't get ill.

"That man...he may look older but...that is Kerry!" Elaine whispered in horror before she covered her face and was trying not to cry. Mai looked at Naru and saw that he was frowning before he looked at Masako.

"Do you sense anything from Wei?" he asked. She shook her head with a soft sigh.

"No, I didn't. Chances are that he's able to hide his spirit from me. The black entity seems to be strong and it could very well have learned to age his body. Though how he was able to do that I don't know." Masako whispered. Mai blinked in confusion and Naru obviously saw it as he found it necessary to explain.

"Kerry has obviously found a way to preserve his body from before. How he was able to do so I'm not sure." he told her. Mai felt her eyes widen before she looked at an upset Elaine. Masako helped her before taking her out of the base, saying she was going to help her lay down.

"This just keeps getting worse and worse. It makes sense now why Lin doesn't want Wei around his family. That man killed his father!" Mai said angrily as she remembered what the man had told them earlier. Naru sighed as he took his seat back at the table where his files were spread out.

"It does. Lin called earlier, before you came in. Madoka's being released from the hospital tomorrow and she's supposed to take it easy. Lin was hoping that you would stay with her. He doesn't want her to be by herself." he told her. She walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"I can do that. I can't imagine what she's going through. To have a child that suddenly...is taken away from you. To know that you can never hold it or..." Mai closed her eyes and Naru gently rubbed her back as tears escaped her shut eyes.

"Mai, we have to help them with this." he told her. She just nodded before leaning her head on his shoulder. She felt Naru stiffen slightly before relaxing. She closed her eyes as he reached and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"You need to sleep." he whispered softly into her ear. She gave a soft sigh before snuggling closer to him. She didn't notice that Naru had moved her into his lap and that was resting against his chest. But he didn't seem to care as he cradled her close, glad that he was allowed to do that now.

"Naru..." she mumbled in her sleep before snuggling even closer to him. He allowed a gentle smile to spread across his lips. She looked so much like a child in her sleep that he wanted to do nothing more than protect her.

'_Protective Noll? Hm, it's different but it suits you_.' Gene said. Naru sighed before shaking his head.

'You just came back to annoy me.' Naru told him. Gene gave a small laugh before cutting the connection with his brother. Naru sighed. His brother was still annoying even after he was supposed to have moved on.

* * *

"How are you feeling, Madoka?" Mai asked as she sat down on the bed in the bedroom that Madoka and Lin were in at the house. The woman was leaning over her son in his bed as she tucked the covers around the small body before turning to look at Mai.

"I'm still trying to accept it. It still hurts to think about it but I'm trying to get on with my life." Madoka whispered as she sat down on the bed beside Mai. The young girl gently placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. "I have Deshi and Lin and it helps. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have them."

"You have all of us if you ever need us." Mai told her. Madoka gave a small laugh before thanking her. It was then that Madoka noticed that Mai was biting her lip and looking as though she wanted to ask something but wasn't sure how to go about it.

"What's wrong, Mai?" Madoka asked. Mai looked at her before sighing.

"Wei. He said something about the past with Lin-san. I just don't want to bring it up with Lin-san because I'm afraid it might..." Mai trailed off as she tried to think of a way to explain what she was wanting to say and the reason she didn't want to talk about it in front of Lin.

"It may bring bad memories. I know. You want to know what happened?" Madoka asked. Mai nodded and Madoka gave a soft sigh before closing her eyes as she began to talk.

"Lin was about ten when his father grew ill. I suppose his mother called Wei in to live with them although Lin says he still doesn't understand why. But one day, Lin came home and saw Wei put something in his father's medicine. Almost an hour later his father had a heart attack.

"Four years later, Lin left in hopes to get away from Wei. Apparently the man moved in with his family for a good deal after Lin's father died. Lin hates Wei and doesn't want him near Deshi or me. He's afraid that Wei will try to kill us." Madoka whispered. Mai blinked.

"Why would he be scared of that?" Mai asked. Madoka looked at Mai with a sad smile on her lips.

"Lin believes that the only reason Wei killed his father was because he was so close to his father. Lin loves his mother but he always said that his father was the one that he could talk to. Although he suspected something was wrong between his parents.

"Anyway, Lin believes that because he was so close to his father that Wei will try to take away others that matter to him. I really don't understand it myself but I don't want to argue with him. He's having a hard time with this case and now the baby." Madoka bit back tears and Mai hugged her tightly.

"It isn't your fault. It isn't your fault." Mai whispered softly. Madoka closed her eyes as she lay against Mai as the tears came. She stared at Deshi's sleeping form and was glad that she had him. She didn't know what she would do if she lost him.

"Oh, Mai..." Madoka whispered. Mai continued to hug the older woman as she whispered comforting words in the woman's ears. She didn't know what good she was doing but she hoped that somehow it was helping Madoka.

* * *

"How is she?" Naru asked once he and Lin were alone in the base. He didn't want ask the man in front of all their comrades. Lin's fingers stopped speeding across the keyboard as he looked at the younger man. He sighed.

"Depressed. She's upset and I've tried everything to help her. She's getting better but she's still not herself." Lin said softly. Naru nodded in understanding.

"It is a hard thing to get over undoubtedly. I'm amazed that she's already recovering." Naru said. Lin closed his eyes and thanked the young man before returning to his work and typing. Naru gave a soft sigh before clearing his throat causing the man to look at him.

"Go on back to her. Tell Mai to come here. I believe it might be best if you spend some more time with Madoka before returning to work fully." Naru told him. Lin nodded before standing up and leaving the room. He went to the bedroom and opened the door. He saw that Madoka was pulling back from Mai and wiping at her tears. He cleared his throat and Mai looked up.

"Mai, Noll wants you in the base." he told her and she nodded in understanding before leaving the room. Lin sat down beside his wife and gently pulled her into his arms and she gave a small giggle. Lin looked at her wide-eyed, he hadn't thought to hear her laugh for a long while.

"What are you laughing about?" he asked her confused. She managed to give him a small smile and his heart swelled at the sight. He had missed her smile so much and had thought he wouldn't see if for a very long time.

"Everyone keeps hugging me. I mean Mai just got done hugging me and then you come in and hug me." she told him. He shook his head before bending and down and gently kissed her.

"You are a strange woman." he told her. Her mouth dropped open before she scowled at him.

"Am not!" she cried indignantly.

"Are too!" cried a young voice. Madoka looked at her son with wide eyes before turning back to her husband.

"You've corrupted our son!" she accused. Lin rolled his eyes. At least she was smiling again. That's all that really mattered. Although, he thought as she hit him with her pillow, the next time he was taking the pillow before she could take it and use it as a weapon.

* * *

"Has anything been found out about Amelia and her disappearance?" Naru asked Yasuhara later that evening after the boy had arrived. Yasuhara shook his head while pushing his glasses up his nose.

"No. I searched everywhere. I found the death announcement of her parents, they died in a house fire. Why she wasn't with them, I don't know. Anyway, I found her missing announcement nearly a year later. Ten years later she and her lover were found dead in their bed. Nothing else was ever recorded about her or the man she had been found with." Yasuhara closed his file and handed it over to Naru who nodded.

"Very well. There's a library, Wei has told me that he hasn't cleared the library out from the previous owner. See if you can find anything else out about the family. Elaine will be able to tell us what any of it means." Naru told the bespectacled boy. "Takigawa, Ayako, as you two have nothing to do right now, you can help him."

"WHAT?! Now wait a minute! I don't want to look through old books!" Ayako complained angrily. Naru sent her a look that made her shut up and she sighed before following the two men out of the base, resigned to his fate.

"We've checked all the cameras, Elaine is a pretty quick learner." Mai said brightly as she and Elaine entered the room. Naru nodded and Mai handed him the notes that she had taken over what she had seen on the cameras and the temperatures of the rooms that the cameras had been in.

"Good. Mai, tea." He ordered. She gave a soft sigh before turning to leave the room and go down to the kitchen to make his tea.

"I can go with you." Elaine offered. Mai smiled at her gratefully before they made their way to the kitchen. Mai quickly set the teapot up and waited for it to whistle. She turned to Elaine where the girl was leaning against a counter.

"He's a bit stuck up, isn't it?" Elaine asked with a smile on her face. Mai shrugged her shoulders. She had a smile on her face as she waited for the teapot to whistle.

"Just a little." she agreed. Elaine laughed as she tilted her head back. She looked back down and then at Mai. She could see the girl was smiling at her.

"Mark was a lot like that. He was so positive that he could do everything that it was annoying. I suppose that was one of the reasons that I had so much trouble getting along with him." Elaine told her. They continued to talk about Mark and Naru and how they were alike until the teakettle whistled.

Mai poured the water how and quickly made it before they made their way back to the base. Mai placed Naru's teacup in front of him and he nodded in thanks. The trio looked up as the door opened again and Lin, Madoka, and Deshi all entered the room.

"Mai!!" Deshi let his mother's hand go and Mai got down on her knees to catch the young boy. "Naru!" Deshi left Mai's arms and ran to the black clad man and latched onto his leg.

Naru stood up and tried to shake the boy off. It did no good. The boy was stronger than he looked. Naru sighed before looking at Lin who shrugged. Though Naru could see that Madoka was covering her mouth in an attempt to not laugh.

"Alright. You can stay there. Until I have to go somewhere." he told the boy before sitting back down. Deshi gave a loud laugh. Naru knew the reason he allowed the boy to stay latched on his leg was because Madoka was smiling. And though he didn't show it, it did affect him when his former mentor was upset.

"Ah, Naru. I think he's growing on you." Mai giggled. Naru glared at her before shaking his head. He looked back down at Deshi who was grinning up at him as big as he could.

"What have you been telling your son?" he asked the parents and he shot a look at Lin. The man frowned.

"Why am I being blamed for everything that Deshi's doing?" he asked. Madoka and Mai shared a look before they answered.

"You're the schemer." they said together. He just shook his head at them. He sat back down in front of his computer and began to type up the notes that Yasuhara had brought them. He hadn't seen the boy and supposed that he was in Wei's library.

Lin frowned at the thought of Wei. The man was the last person that he wanted to think of. He had enough to think of as it was. He had to figure out a way to keep the man away from his family and how to help Madoka in her time of need. He gave a soft sigh as he continued to type the notes.

"Do you think Yasuhara will find anything about your family, Elaine?" Mai asked the blonde girl. Elaine shrugged.

"Probably. Amelia kept her diary in the library but she would never let me read it. She was writing in it a lot after she came back after disappearing. She stopped writing in it about three days before she was killed. She said that she didn't need it anymore." Elaine said before the door opened and Ayako came in carrying a small leather bound book.

"Naru, I found something that I thing you need to hear. Elaine, I think you need to hear this as well." Ayako said. Elaine blinked in surprise as Ayako sat down on the couch and turned to a page in what she recognized as Amelia's diary.

"What did you find, Ayako?" Madoka asked as everyone gathered around the priestess. She looked up at them and took a deep breath.

"You just need to listen to this." she told them before she began to read the diary entry that she had turned to.

"_Dear Diary,_

"_My dear cousin has refused to hear me out about Carson and everything that he did for me. I was only eight when Carson saved me from the wolves. I had gotten lost in the woods and was very much surrounded. Carson came and saved me and I went away with him. I wasn't exactly happy at my cousin's house, except for my dear baby cousin, Elaine._

"_She will be getting married soon and she seems happy. I just hope she can get away from Kerry, Carson says that the kitchen boy has been keeping a close eye on Elaine and he's been trying to suggest that Mark move the wedding date up. I just want to get her out of this house._

"_Carson doesn't understand why Elaine's father won't see us as a married couple but I understand all to well. I ran away from my cousin and I came back a married woman. Married to a man that he didn't pick. Married a man that he doesn't know if he has any money to add to the family fortune. My cousin is so material. He doesn't understand that I didn't marry for money but because I love Carson._

"_And those horrid rumors that he has started! Really, Carson isn't a demon! He may look a bit different from what people in Japan look like but he'll fit in fine among the British. We're going to run away there after Elaine and Mark marry. I hope it soon for I don't know how much more I can take of my cousin._

"_He's baiting Carson every chance he gets and Carson knows it. Carson's temper may be hard to raise but once it does it's horrible. I suppose it's only right, considering that he's a vampire_." Ayako stopped and looked up at everyone's gasp.

Mai looked at Elaine and saw her eyes were wide. She had her hand over her mouth before she closed her eyes. She shook her head as tears began to trail down her cheeks.

"If I had known my father was blackmailing them I would have married Mark as soon as possible so that they could leave. Carson was only enduring that torture because of me!" Elaine cried. Mai looked at Naru and saw that he looked slightly stunned.

"What are the chances that he was actually a vampire?" Mai asked. Naru sighed before walking over to her.

"I'm not sure. He may have had a disease that made him crave blood. Back then there were a lot of things that are possible." he told her. Ayako suddenly shook her head before reaching into the back of the book and pulled a picture out.

"I don't how he did it but Elaine's father managed to take a picture of Carson feeding off Amelia. He has _fangs_." Ayako passed the picture around and Mai quickly passed it to Naru. Though it was black and white, the blood on Amelia's neck wasn't hard to see.

"It all makes sense now." Elaine suddenly whispered and everyone looked at her in surprise. "Carson would never come out in the sunlight to help Mark. He only came out if it was cloudy or nighttime. He always said that he burnt easily, I guess now we know how he burnt so easily." the girl finished and everyone nodded.

"Have you read anything else in the diary?" Naru asked. Ayako shook her head as she looked back down at the book.

"No, but I'm going to head back to the library and continue making notes. She may write more about her disappearance and why she ran away. She doesn't sound like the type of person that would do something without a reason. Obviously Carson knew the reason she ran away." Ayako said before she stood up and left the room. Elaine was still in a shock.

"I still can't believe father was blackmailing Carson. And spreading such horrible rumors about him! I mean, being a vampire wasn't exactly great either but a demon?!" she cried. Mai frowned before looking at Naru as he still stood over her.

"I thought Carson and Amelia were stabbed. If he was a vampire shouldn't he have survive the stabbing?" she asked curiously.

"Not if he was stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake. Though people make fun of such a way of killing vampires, it really is the only way to kill them." Madoka answered. Mai sighed before looking back at Elaine and covering the woman's hands that were clenched tightly in her lap.

"Your cousin knew what she was getting into. She sounded as though she really loved Carson and that's all that matters, right?" Mai asked. Elaine nodded in agreement with a smile on her face before they all looked up as the door opened again.

Mai frowned as no one seemed to be standing there. Naru walked over to the door to close it before he jerked back as a very familiar figure walked in. He felt his eyes widen. It was a figure that he had seen for the last time, alive, almost four years ago. He heard a sharp gasp come from Madoka and Lin as he continued to stare at the figure, there was no way.

"H-how?" he stammered as the figure tilted his head at him curiously as a smile spread across it's lips.

"Gene?!" Mai cried. The figure looked at Mai with warm blue eyes and she felt her whole world spinning before darkness engulfed her, the last thing she heard was someone calling her name.

* * *

He he he. I'm evil aren't I?

Question for game: How do you think Naru will react?

Remember to review!! My favorite reply will be posted in the next chapter and that chapter will be dedicated to the person that gave it, even if it isn't what I've decided. Have fun! Kieno0324


	9. Chapter 8: Ways of the Sinister

"That went well." Gene said dryly. No one said anything. He saw that Naru was staring at him with something akin to shock on his face. Not that he could blame him. It wasn't everyday that your dead brother walked into a room, or he hoped it wasn't everyday. He would be slightly worried if it always happened to his brother.

"Who the hell are you?" Naru hissed. Gene sighed inwardly. He shouldn't be surprised. After all there was a black entity that was roaming about that could very well act as though it were him. Although he was quiet sure that he was himself.

"Eugene Davis." he told him. Naru narrowed his eyes at the man that was standing before him. He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to check on Mai where Madoka and Elaine were trying to bring her back to consciousness but he wasn't going to take his eyes off of him. He still wasn't sure what was going on.

"Really? Am I supposed to just believe you?" Naru hissed angrily as his brain refused to believe what was standing in front of him. There was no way that his brother was back. He had seen the body, he had _felt_ the car drive over his brother. He had seen what happened to his brother and couldn't believe what was standing in front of him. It had to be a trick.

'_Yes._' Naru took a step back, feeling as though he had just been slapped. '_Do you believe me now? I'm not trying to trick you, Noll._'

'_It can't be. How?_' Naru sent back. He watched Gene shrug his shoulders before looking over at Mai. Naru frowned before moving into his brother's line of sigh. '_Just because you have me convinced that you know how to communicate with me doesn't mean that I trust you_.'

'_Understandable. But I still have to talk to Mai. She won't know how to control her dreams now that I won't be there to help her_.' Gene sent him back. Naru narrowed his eyes as he continued to block Gene's sight.

'_I still don't trust you. Stay away from Mai._' he sent back angrily as he refrained from snarling at Gene. He wasn't sure why he was so angry. Normally he should have been stunned, maybe even happy that he had a chance to talk to his brother. But now he didn't want his brother anywhere near Mai. At all.

"Understood. But I still have to talk to her." Gene said before he turned towards Lin who cleared his throat. Gene could see that Lin was hesitant at his sudden appearance but obviously thought he could trust him. Gene could see it in the Chinese man's eyes and he smiled at it.

"I think it may be best if you stayed in the base with us while Noll talks to Mai." Lin suggested. Naru nodded before going over to the couch and scooping the unconscious Mai up before walking passed Gene without looking at him.

"He's in denial." Gene said. Madoka raised an eyebrow and the younger boy chuckled. It was a rather stupid statement, he had to admit that.

"You can't really blame him." a soft voice whispered. He turned towards the blonde haired girl that had been helping Madoka taking care of Mai. Gene realized this had to be the Elaine that Mai had told him about. She was rather pretty and innocent looking, she didn't seem to belong in the house.

"The brother that he had thought that he had lost suddenly came back to him. He doesn't know how to handle it. We just have to give him time and I believe that Mai is the one can help him accept the fact the fastest." Elaine finished and Madoka nodded with a smile on her face.

"Right!"

* * *

"Mm." Mai's eyes cracked open before opening the whole way. She realized that she was no longer in the base but in Naru's bedroom. She sat up and rubbed her head.

"What am I doing in here? The last thing I remember...Gene!" Mai gasped before she looked up and saw that Naru was sitting on the bed beside her. She tilted her head curiously. How was he taking the fact that Gene was...somehow back? "Naru?" she whispered. He looked at her and sighed.

"Gene's back." he said. She nodded and watched as he stood up and realized that he was tense. She wondered what was wrong. In all her time of knowing him she had never seen him so tense, even when he was angry at someone.

"Aren't you glad?" she asked brightly. She forced herself not to flinch back when he turned to look at her with dead eyes. She wondered what was going through his mind. Wasn't he happy that Gene was back? He got a chance to talk to him again and see him again and actually touch him.

"I suppose I should be." he admitted. She watched as he began to walk towards the door. "If you wish to go speak with him, you're more than welcome. It shouldn't surprise me."

"What? What do you mean?!" she cried as she climbed off the bed as he opened the door. He looked over his shoulder and Mai felt her eyes widen at the sad glint that was in his eyes. What was wrong with him? He never had that look in his eyes, after all he was Naru.

"Gene's the one that never screwed up." he whispered before the door closed behind him. Mai felt her eyes widen before tears began to well. He hadn't. She fell onto the bed as she realized that he _had_. He had let her go.

"Naru!!" she screamed before burying her head into her pillow as she couldn't help the sobs escaping her throat. She felt as though her heart was breaking. She had thought that they were happy together. She had been sure that she had him convinced that it wasn't Gene that she loved. Apparently she had been wrong.

Soon all of her tears were spent and she just lay on the bed listlessly, not wanting to move. She didn't move as the door open and didn't jump as she felt a cool hand touch her back. She glanced up and saw Elaine smiling down at her gently before the ghost looked out the window near the bed.

"You want to hear a story?" she asked. Mai hiccupped in response but didn't answer. Apparently Elaine took it as a go ahead.

"I had just been betrothed to Mark. I was very upset. But I accepted it. I didn't want to but I did. After three months Mark didn't understand that I wasn't angry at him but at my parents. He tried to break the betrothal after he saw me with the chef one day. He thought I was in love with the chef and was trying to step aside.

"I only realized how much I cared for Mark until he almost left my life. I stayed back not wanting to say anything until one day he came to me. He told me that he wanted to step aside for my sake but that he was selfish. That he couldn't let me go and I told him the same thing.

"Let him have some space. He'll realize his mistake." Elaine said. Mai sat up and rubbed her eyes. They both looked up as the door opened again and Madoka entered the bedroom and sat down on the other side of Mai and rubbed the girl's back.

"He is an idiot." Madoka said. Mai managed a wet smile before she looked at Madoka curiously.

"Did you and Lin ever fight?" she asked softly. Madoka laughed at the question and Mai was glad to hear the sound. Though she could still see the pain from the miscarriage in the older woman's eyes she knew that the woman was trying to move on. Which was what she needed.

"Many times. I think the fight that I thought had really destroyed us was the one he and I had over me moving to Japan for my Junior Year in high school. He didn't want me to go, because he despised Japan. I yelled at him and told him that he couldn't tell me what to do and that I was going whether he liked it or not.

"It was horrible but eventually he realized that I was going, no matter what he said and he finally stopped complaining about it. He bought me a cell phone and asked that I call every weekend. I did and we got through it.

"Every couple has their rough patch." Madoka finished. Mai nodded before hugging the older woman tightly and Madoka patted her back. Mai pulled back and bit her lip.

"Is it the real Gene?" she asked. Madoka nodded.

"Yep. Lin was questioning him and everything. It's Gene and he's solid. I hugged him and everything. We don't know how but that's how it is. Lin is doing research and Deshi is helping him." Madoka said. Mai gave a soft sigh before running a hand through her hair.

"I'm not sure how to react." she admitted softly before they all looked up as they heard a yell.

"ELAINE!! ELAINE!!" the voice called. Elaine looked at the other two woman before the door to the bedroom burst open and Elaine's eyes went wide and the other two gasped as they saw Wei standing there, wild eyed and holding a gun.

"I killed you once. I won't let you come back!!" he snarled. Mai felt her eyes widen as the man pointed the gun at Elaine.

"Wei, no!!" Madoka cried and Mai felt her eyes widen as he pulled the trigger.

"NARU!!! HELP!!!"

* * *

"Have you found anything?" Naru asked as he and Gene stood over Lin's shoulder. He hadn't told Gene or Lin about what had happened between him and Mai although he had asked the girls to check on her.

"Nope!" Deshi said from his father's lap. Naru looked at his brother who shrugged his shoulders.

"I told you, I don't know how this happened! I woke up on the steps and came up here! That's all I know!" Gene defended himself and Naru sighed. He looked back at the computer screen wondering if he could find an answer somewhere. There _had_ to be an explanation. He knew that. He just had to find it.

"I can keep looking. Deshi is very good at researching." Lin smiled at his son and the two year old laughed in delight.

"Right. Gene, you help him as well. Maybe something will pop out at you." Naru told his twin. Gene nodded before he turned to look for a chair. He never got a chance to pull it up.

"NARU!!! HELP!!!" they all shared looks. They knew that voice. It was Mai that was screaming. They all froze as they waited for something else to happen. They didn't have to wait long. Seconds later there was a loud bang.

"That was a gunshot!" Gene cried before they all ran out of the base towards Naru's room.

"WEI!!" Lin snarled as he saw the man standing at the door. He ran after the other man, both disappearing down the hall.

"What's going on?" Gene asked as he and Naru entered the room.

"Wei came in...and shot at me. Madoka jumped in front of me!" Elaine cried from the floor.

"MOMMY!"

* * *

I'm sorry for the delay and the short chapter. I'm trying to make this story move and it doesn't seem to want to. And I'm preoccupied just a little bit by a new show, but I won't give up!! The updates may take a little bit longer, but they will come!

My favorite answer for my last question: As for Naru's reaction...I think that he'll be flabbergasted for a bit...then maybe touch his brother (you know, as in movies when a lover comes back, the person touches them to make sure they're real)...then might be in a denial sort of state, perhaps not allowing Gene to get near Mai because he's afraid of Gene getting too close to her (the love triangle) or he might still think it's the black entity using Gene's form to get close to everyone so it can hurt someone... This comes from ahunmaster and the dedication goes to ahunmaster!

The new question for this chapter. Like last time I will post my favorite answer and the chapter will be dedicated to the person that gave it. So make sure to leave a name!

Do you think Wei was aiming at Elaine or Madoka? And why?

Have fun and be imaginative! It's half the fun!


	10. Chapter 9: Ways of the Sinister

"Thank goodness it just grazed your arm. You may feel a little dizzy for awhile but you should be okay." Ayako told Madoka as she wrapped the woman's arm. Madoka smile before looking at her son who was still sobbing into her side. Lin had returned to the bedroom and had saw what had happened. Madoka looked at her husband and shivered as she remembered how Naru, Gene, and Takigawa all had to restrain him from going after Wei again.

"Thank you, Ayako. Oh, Deshi, come on, I'm okay. Look, my arm is all better." Madoka told her son as she showed him her wrapped arm. Deshi sniffled before smiling at her and nodding.

"Okay!" he said happily. He skipped over to Mai who smiled at him. Madoka glanced at Lin who was sitting on the bed looking murderous. Madoka gave a soft sigh before pushing herself off the floor and going to sit beside Lin. They stayed silent as everyone left the room, with Mai taking Deshi.

"Koujo?" Madoka whispered softly. She heard him growl before turning his head away. She gave a soft sigh before reaching out and gently turning his head towards her and meeting his grey eyes.

"I'm fine, Koujo. You don't need to worry about me." she whispered. She gasped as he suddenly pulled her to him. She felt him shaking as he held her close. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he continued to hold her tightly.

"Koujo..." she whispered as he pulled back. She could tell that his chin was clenched and she gently reached out and touched his face. His eyes trailed back to hers and she felt her eyes widen as she saw the despair in his eyes.

"I thought I'd lost you." he whispered. Madoka felt tears in her eyes before she reached up and gently pulled his head down so that it rested against her shoulder. She felt his arms wrap around her waist as she stroked his hair. She felt the tears escape her eyes as he continued to shake. She didn't want to think what would have happened if the bullet had strayed any closer.

"But you didn't. You didn't." she whispered reassuringly into his ear as they remained sitting on the bed. She continued to stroke his hair.

* * *

"Did anyone catch Wei?" Mai asked as they all sat in the base. Takigawa shook his head as he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"No. After we caught up to Lin, I made another run through of the house. He's disappeared and I can't find him anywhere. John and I can look again, if you want, Naru." Takigawa told the boy, although he wasn't sure which was which at the moment.

"Yes. Do everything you can to find him. I don't want him roaming around this house with a loaded gun. Elaine, I want you to go with Ayako and Masako and tell them _everything_ you know about Kerry." he instructed. They all nodded in understanding before they all left the base leaving him, Gene, and Mai alone.

"Are you alright, Mai?" Gene asked. Mai gave a small laugh before she nodded as she ran her hand through her hair.

"Yeah. Just a little shook up. I'm just glad that Madoka wasn't hurt anymore than she was." Mai answered with a smile at Gene. She looked up as Naru stood up and exited the room, the door slamming behind him. Mai felt tears in her eyes and she looked away from Gene as she wiped at her tears.

"What's going on?" Gene asked in confusion. Hadn't his brother and Mai been dating? What had happened during that time that Naru and Mai had been alone?

"He let me go. I guess...I guess he never loved me." Mai whispered softly. Gene frowned as he wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Mai, that isn't true." he tried to tell her before she jerked from beneath his arm. She stood up and turned to look at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. She was trying not to sob but she couldn't. Didn't anyone understand how she was feeling?!

"If it isn't true then why did he just leave me?! Did I do something to make him stop loving me? I mean, it seems like everyone that I love just leaves me!" Mai whispered before she fell to the floor. She brought her knees underneath her chin as the tears continued to spill from her eyes. She heard Gene move but he didn't touch her.

She wasn't sure she wanted him to touch her. She just wanted to be left alone in her grief. Why was this happening? She had known the minute that she had seen the house that she didn't want to be there. She had just known. But she hadn't said anything, chalking it up to nerves. But now she was wishing more than ever that she had voiced her opinion, maybe it would have prevented any of this.

"Mai, look at me." Gene told her. She looked up and sniffled as she looked into his eyes. She watched as he knelt down in front of her and gave her that trademark smile of his.

"My brother is an idiot. We both know that. Do you remember what I told you a few years ago?" he asked. She blinked before looking at him with a wavering smile on her face.

"You told me that you love me." she whispered softly and he nodded as he gently reached out and rubbed her wet cheek.

"And I still do. You know that. But my brother, that idiot, doesn't realize what he has. One day he will and if he doesn't...then he's more of an idiot than I thought." Gene told her. She nodded in understanding before allowing him to pull her in an embrace. Neither noticed the pair of dark blue eyes that were watching them before the door closed behind him and neither looked up.

* * *

Naru was furious. He had been expecting it. He had even told himself that his brother would go after Mai. He had even told himself that Mai would accept any advances from the other twin. He had thought that he would be prepared. But he wasn't prepared.

He didn't think that he was going to be able to watch the two grow close during the case. He didn't want to watch. He opened the door to his room and was grateful when he saw that Madoka and Lin were gone from his room. He sat down on his bed as he realized that he had given up.

It didn't make sense. He never gave up. And now he was. He had just given up on one of the best things that he had in his life. And now he was having to suffer because of it. He should have known that to began with. He should have known from the beginning that it would be hard. He just hadn't wanted to admit it to himself.

* * *

"I told you everything that I know about Kerry. I can't think of anything else that I can tell you. I'm sorry." Elaine told the other women that were sitting on the bed opposite hers. Masako and Ayako shared a look before they both sighed.

"There's nothing that you can think of that you might have forgotten from before?" Masako asked gently and Elaine bit her lip. Masako watched the blonde think before she began to speak.

"I saw Mark and Kerry talking about two days before Mark and Amelia were found dead. I don't know what else to say because I don't know what it could be. I don't know how Kerry is still alive." Elaine whispered and Masako gave a soft sigh.

"He isn't. I took another glance at Wei this morning and immediately sensed something horrible. Wei has been possessed by Kerry for at least twenty years, if not longer. How he managed to do that, I don't know." Masako said before Elaine gasped and they both looked up as she ran out of the room. They followed her and found her at the base where Lin and Madoka were sitting going through files.

"Lin-san!" she cried. The Chinese man looked up at the sound of his name and blinked as he saw Elaine standing there. "When did your father die?!"

"Elaine, that is a very personal question." Madoka reprimanded. Elaine shook her head at the woman.

"I know that! But Masako said Wei has been possessed for at least twenty years. Was that when your father passed on, Lin-san?" Elaine asked desperately. Lin sighed before nodding.

"Yes. I was about ten when he died. Why?" Lin asked. Elaine took a deep breath before looking him square in the eye.

"Because, I think Kerry possessed Wei and killed your father. And for some reason Kerry has remained in Wei, destroying whatever was left of Wei to begin with. Wei may have been to weak to avoid the possession at first but as time went on his spirit was being destroyed." Elaine whispered. She saw Lin's eyes widen before he looked at Madoka who had her hand over her mouth.

"It makes sense. The reason that every time Deshi saw him he would start crying." Madoka whispered. Lin nodded before rubbing his forehead and looking up as Ayako and Masako entered the room.

"I just talked to Takigawa. He said they've done an entire sweep of the house, with the help of the butler and maids. They can't find Wei anywhere. Wang-san suggested we travel in groups until he is found and I have to say that I agree." Ayako said and Madoka nodded before looking at Lin and then at her son that was sleeping soundly on the cot.

"Koujo...can we call your mother and get her to take care of Deshi?" she whispered as tears began to well. Lin looked at the others and they all left the room before he turned back to his wife as she continued to cry.

"What's wrong, Madoka?" he asked and she turned to him and began to sob into his shoulder. He was surprised by the sudden change in her attitude, she had been doing so well in not letting the grief control her.

"I don't want to lose him too. I don't want to lose him!" she sobbed and Lin sighed as he gently stroked her hair. He looked at his son over his wife's head before he bent down and kissed Madoka's head.

"I'll call her tonight and see if she can fly out. She can have our hotel room. We'll take Deshi to her the minute she arrives, alright?" he told her. She just nodded as she continued to hold onto him as tightly as she could and he wrapped his arms around her. They still had a long way to go before either of them healed.

* * *

"Check mate." Elaine said. Gene blinked before sighing and glancing at Mai as she giggled. Everyone was sitting in base, even Naru, and Elaine had brought a chess set. And she had managed to beat everyone, except Naru who had refused to play. Gene shook his head with a smile on his face.

"You are to good. Where did you learn to play, Elaine-san?" he asked and she just shrugged as she set the chessboard back up for another game.

"My mother taught me and from that point on I just continued on learning the moves and everything. I guess I just fell in love with the game and that's all." she explained before they all looked up as Deshi sat up and yawned.

"Mommy!!" Deshi called. Madoka went over and sat down beside her son and gently pulled him into her lap and smiled at him.

"Did you have a good nap, Deshi?" she asked and he giggled up at her.

"Yes, Mommy!" he said brightly and Madoka smiled at him.

"Would you like some tea, Naru?" Mai asked the man, hoping that he would at least look at her. He had been ignoring her ever since Wei had disappeared. As time went by she was becoming even more despondent than before.

"Yes." he replied coolly but there was no look accompanied by it and Mai felt her heartbreak. She had to do something to save what they had. She walked over to him and touched his shoulder and she felt him stiffen. She bit the inside of her cheek to try and stop from crying in front of everyone.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked. She watched as he nodded before standing up. She walked out of the base and he followed her and they stopped a few paces away from the base.

"Naru, why are you acting like this?! Shouldn't you be glad that Gene is back for a short time? This may be the only chance you ever get to be with him again!" Mai told him. She watched as his eyes darkened before he turned from her.

"You're enjoying it much more than I am. I can't say that I'm surprised that you chose him over me. I just guess a part of me hoped that you wouldn't. I shouldn't have even hoped." he replied and Mai felt her tears escape.

"Naru!! I haven't chosen him! I never loved him! I love you and I always will! Do you realize that you were my first kiss? The first guy to hold my hand? To take me on a date? And I don't want to give that up. I don't know what other people feel when they're in love but if it's anything like I feel when I'm with you I don't see how they can live without it.

"I love you, Naru. Oliver. Whatever you feel like being called." she told him. He remained motionless. She watched as he turned towards her and she felt her heart beating in her chest. What was he going to say? His eyes were still cold and uncaring and she felt her heart breaking. She hadn't gotten through to him. She had tried and failed.

"Bring the tea back to the base. Don't dawdle." he told her before turning and entering the base with the door closing behind him firmly. Mai felt her eyes widen as she stumbled back against the wall opposite the door of the base. She slowly slid to the floor as her heart continued to break.

'Naru...Naru...' she kept thinking before she felt a hand shaking her shoulder and she looked up to see Masako looking at her worried. Mai began to sob as she threw herself into the girl's arms. Masako gently patter her back as the medium realized what had to be going on.

'That idiot. Why does he do this to her? Can't he see how much she cares about him and how much this is hurting her?' Masako thought before she looked up as Gene walked out of the base. She saw his eyes widen before he began to growl and Masako shook her head.

"That son of a bitch." Gene hissed before he looked at the base door.

"Leave him be." Mai suddenly spoke. "He doesn't want me anymore. I guess I should have seen it coming. I'm not smart or pretty enough for him. I'll get Lin and Madoka to take me back to the city. I need to start searching for an apartment so I can move out." Mai whispered dejectedly. Masako felt her eyes widen before she nodded in understanding.

"What was that?!" Masako exclaimed as there was a loud thump that seemed to shake the whole house.

Mai suddenly gasped as something wrapped around her throat. She knew that feeling from before when she had been watching over Deshi. She struggled against the unseen force before she gasped and everything went dark.

"Mai!!" Masako cried as she shook the girl and Gene knelt beside her. He put his hand over her mouth before laying her down on the floor and starting chest compressions.

"Get Ayako! She isn't breathing!" he cried as he continued his CPR. He bent down and breathed hair into her and when she didn't start on her own he repeated the procedure.

"What the hell happened?" Naru's voice asked from behind as everyone went about to try and find a phone to call an ambulance.

"You." was the only answer Gene felt like giving.

* * *

Okay, so this chapter is a little slow but I'm trying to figure out where I want to go with this. Anyway, sugoi!! I couldn't pick a favorite review so this chapter is dedicated to everyone that reviewed and answered the question, you know who you are! Okay, now for the next question. 

How do you think Naru will react to Gene's statement at the end of this chapter?

Remember to review! Kieno0324 out!


	11. Chapter 10: Ways of the Sinister

Once Ayako made it to Mai she classified what was happening as a panic attack and managed to get Mai breathing again. They cancelled the ambulance and moved the unconscious Mai to Masako and Ayako's bedroom. Ayako had assured everyone that she was alright and everyone else, with the exception of Ayako, Gene, and Naru, went to the town to eat.

"Glaring at the screen isn't going to make her wake up any sooner." Gene told his brother. Naru turned to glare at his brother instead of the computer screen that he had been glaring for the past twenty minutes. Gene shook his head at his brother.

"Amazing how you take out your anger on others when you are the one that is at fault. If you hadn't been a complete dork she probably wouldn't have had a panic attack." Gene told him. Naru's eyes narrowed even more at his brother before he stood up causing Gene to tilt his head in amusement.

"Don't tell me how I am supposed to live my life." he snapped at his brother and Gene shook his head with a smile on his face as he also stood up to face his brother. He knew that there was going to be a fight and it was going to be a pretty bad one.

"You are acting like an ass. Do you really think that Mai just had a panic attack because she was stressed about the case? If you would just grow up and act your age then maybe none of this would have happened!" Gene snapped. Naru scowled at him before narrowing his eyes.

"If you're so damned worried about her why don't you go check on her?' he asked. Gene felt his eyes widen before he pulled back and punched the younger twin with everything in him causing Naru to fall to the ground. Gene found that he was breathing hard as he turned to walk out of the base.

"You truly are an asshole." Gene whispered before the door slammed shut behind him. Naru continued to sit on the ground stunned before he fell back so that he was laying on his back looking up at the ceiling.

He wasn't sure what had just happened. Why did his brother care so much about how he was acting? His brother was the one that cared so much about Mai. Why would he care if he, he being Naru, left the girl? Shouldn't Gene be happy that he now had a chance to steal Mai. Naru growled before pushing himself up. He was ready to wash his hands of the whole situation.

* * *

"We got her things from Davis-san's room. How is she doing?" John asked as he and Takigawa set Mai's suitcases down on the floor. Masako was sitting on one side of the bed as Ayako checked Mai's pulse.

"I gave her a sedative so she'll be sleeping for the rest of the day. She will need the rest after having that attack. I don't think I've seen an attack like that before. But she'll be okay, thanks to Gene." Ayako admitted as she moved away from the sleeping girl and putting her stethoscope back into her medical back that she had brought with her from the hospital after their last visit to the place.

"That's good." John said pleasantly.

"He's such an ass!" Masako suddenly exclaimed and everyone looked at the medium surprised. They had never heard the medium speaking so crudely before. She looked angry as her hands fisted in the skirt of her kimono.

"Masako?" John asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with wet eyes.

"Naru. He left her behind for no reason. Absolutely no reason other than the fact that he's a jealous prat! How can a person do that do their loved one? How can you just leave the person you love because a challenge is thrown at you?" she whispered. John squeezed her shoulder before he answered, causing the other two to look at him wide eyed.

"Think of how Davis-san feels. He believes that if he didn't let Mai go that Gene would steal her away and make it all the more painful. Unfortunately he can't read Mai very well or he would know that she wouldn't leave him. Everyone can see how much she cares about him and that she would never leave him." John replied and Masako gave a sad sigh.

"That doesn't give him an excuse." she whispered and John wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It doesn't." he agreed.

* * *

Mai blinked. She was standing in the library of Wei's house, though the last thing she remembered was something pressing down on her before everything went dark. She looked around curiously before the door opened and a lady with black hair entered the room in a dress that reminded her of the one that Elaine had been wearing. Following the woman was a pale headed man that had skin that seemed to be the same color.

"Cousin has no right to give you that ultimatum! He is not my father!" the girl cried as she fell onto the couch. Mai felt her eyes widen in surprise. She knew who these two had to be.

'Amelia and Carson!' Mai thought as the man sat down in an armchair opposite of the couch that Amelia was sitting on.

"Calm down, Amelia. He thinks that I'm a demon. He's nowhere near the truth. He'll try to exorcise me and it won't work." Carson told her. Mai moved over so that she could see Amelia's face as she had been standing behind the couch. She could tell that the girl was trying not to cry. She knew that feeling all to well and Mai shook her head. She wasn't here to think about her love life but to gather information on the case.

"It isn't fair! He should be grateful! You saved my life!" Amelia shot up from her seat and began to pace. Mai watched Carson as he watched the girl pace around the library. He sighed before standing up from his seat and stopping the girl in her stride and she looked up at him slightly startled.

"Amelia, I really don't give a damn what he thinks of me. I came here to be with you because you wanted to be with your cousin. She's getting married to a kind man and once she is we will leave this house and all the wretched memories it seems to hold for you." he told her. Mai watched as Amelia dropped her head and nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Carson. It would mean so much to Elaine if we stayed for her wedding and then we'll leave. And never come back." Amelia agreed. Mai squeaked as she saw Carson's eyes glow red. She watched as his mouth opened and fangs grew and Mai gulped.

'He really was a vampire...and Amelia really was a feed source for him.' she thought as Amelia tilted her head back and he bit down hard. Mai felt her cheeks tint at Amelia's cry, that was anything but pained. Mai turned away as she didn't think that it was right for her to watch such a private moment.

"What is going on!" a male voice cried. Mai looked at the library door and felt her eyes widen. She recognized the man standing there from Elaine's loving descriptions of the man. It had to be Mark that entered the room, his blue eyes on fire as he made sure to close the door behind him.

"Mark!" Amelia cried as she pulled the neck of her dress up to hide the bite mark. Carson wiped the blood from his lips before turning to face Elaine's fiancé. The man looked livid as he was beginning to realize what was going on.

"You promised not to feed off her, Carson! I told you that I would bring you packets of blood to feed off." Mark said. Amelia gasped before looking at Carson wide eyed.

"He knows?" she asked and the vampire sighed before nodding.

"Yes. I was helping him with an elderly man when suddenly the sun started to shine. My skin started to burn and he put two and tow together. I told him you were my feed source and he asked me not to feed off of you in case Elaine accidentally walked in." he said.

"And you seem incapable of keeping a promise!" Mark said. Carson refused to look at him and Mai watched in interest. Where was the dream leading exactly? Did this have something to do with their tragic deaths?

"Look, he saved my life a long time ago. He had just been turned and I'm the only person who's blood he's ever tasted! Could you take my blood and give it to him so that he wouldn't have to bite me. I don't want to scare Elaine, I love her dearly, but I love Carson as well." Amelia explained and Mark smiled at her gently before nodding in understanding.

"We can do that. I'm sorry I overreacted, Carson. I didn't know that Amelia was the only one that you had fed off." Mark said. Carson chuckled at Mark before nodding in understanding.

"I hadn't told you. I was nervous about drinking anyone else's blood. I've tried to keep it private but...I was hungry." he whispered and Amelia took his hand shyly and Mai felt a grin spread across her face.

"MARK! GET DOWN HERE OR WE'LL BE LATE!" Elaine's voice called. Mai giggled as the three shared a look before leaving the library. Mai scratched her head as she realized that she wasn't leaving the dream. She soon realized why as a shadowy figure detached itself from one of the bookshelves.

'Kerry...' Mai thought horrified as the man, who looked very much like Wei, left the room and Mai felt herself falling back into dreamland.

* * *

"Elaine, do you think that Amelia truly loved Carson?" Masako asked later that night of Elaine as they sat by a still sleeping Mai. The blonde haired girl frowned before a smile spread across her face.

"Yes. I do. I mean, I didn't know he was a vampire but she did. She did and she loved him even more because of it. I guess at first it could have been hero worship but I don't know. They seemed to fit together so perfectly that I couldn't imagine her being with anyone else." Elaine answered with a fond smile on her face. Masako felt her lips turning in reply.

"That's good. Do you know if Carson ever proposed?" she asked curiously and Elaine shrugged.

"I'm not sure. They did seem awfully close a few months before their death. I don't know if Carson was able to afford a ring but that wouldn't have stopped him from proposing. He was wild over Amelia. There is no doubt in my mind about that. None." she said with a smile on her face.

"It does sound as they were close. Why was your father so angry about them? I mean I know you told us a reason, but was that the only reason?" Masako asked. Elaine gave a soft sigh before shaking her head.

"No. My father hated that she had Carson because he had taken her away from him. I think my father had a sick twisted liking of my cousin. Let me say that he wasn't a very good father to begin with. He always tried to beat us, though my mother did manage to stop him. 

"I believe that is one of the reasons my mother arranged my marriage. In hopes to get me out of the house. I suppose she thought that Amelia was gone and I was the only one left in the house that she needed to get away from my father. And then Amelia came back with Carson and my father went into a horrible rage.

"Although once Carson and Mark realized it they tried to keep us out of the house as often as possible. And as far away from my father. Masako, he was a very scary man. Even now, as a ghost, I don't wish to ever meet him again." Elaine whispered and Masako reached over and patted the girl's shoulder comfortingly.

"Sometimes people get stuck with family members that...just don't seems as though they really should be in the family. But that isn't your fault. Your mother tried to protect you. That's a good thing. But now we have to find out who killed your father, your fiancé, and everyone else that you were close to." Masako told her. Elaine gave a soft sigh as she twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger.

"I just don't understand why Kerry would kill all of them." Elaine whispered sadly as she wiped her eyes to get rid of the tears that were trying to spill.

"Jealously can do that to a person. It's a strong emotion and it can destroy even the strongest of people. Kerry probably thought your father was the one that set up the arranged marriage and killed him in hopes that doing so would give you the idea to say that you no longer wanted to marry Mark.

"Once he realized that you weren't going to call off the marriage he must have thought that killing Amelia and Carson would change your mind and maybe send you to his arms. He had to have know that Carson was a vampire to know that he had to stab him in the heart while he was sleeping.

"It must have finally dawned on him that you were going to marry him so he took the last resort. He then killed you and Mark. I don't know what he was thinking after that but I believe that because of all the sins that he committed that he has become a demon in his after life. A very strong demon." Masako said. Elaine gave a sad sigh before growing silent.

* * *

"Mother is taking the next plane from Hong Kong. She said that she would call after the plane landed so we could meet her at the hotel." Lin told Madoka as he entered their bedroom. He saw that she was tucking Deshi in his toddler bed and kissed the child on the forehead. She turned to look at him and managed to give a smile.

"Good. I've started packing some of his things already. I just want to get him out of this house as fast as we can. I don't want him in this house any longer." she whispered and Lin went over and hugged her.

"I understand, Madoka. I would like it if you would stay with my mother in the hotel. I don't want you here with Wei wondering around." he told her and she shook her head as she looked up at him.

"That ghost pushed me down the stairs. He took my baby from me. I want to be here when he's driven away." she said angrily. Lin hugged her even tighter as he understood her anger. He felt it to. He wanted to drive the ghost away and into hell, where in his opinion it did belong.

"Only if you promise to stay with me in the base until something happens. I don't want you out of my sight with everything that has been happening." he told her and she nodded in understanding.

"Okay." she whispered before she looked back at her son that was sleeping soundly and looking as though nothing could wake him. "At least Deshi will be somewhere safe. The ghost can't harm him anymore. That's all that matters to me right now."

"Of course. Madoka, this will all blow over. I don't know when or how but this case will be solved." he told her and she nodded with a smile on her face before burying her head against his chest as she tried to keep her tears at bay but failing. She was so scared and she didn't know why. She had never felt scared on a case before and now she was petrified.

"Why don't we try to get some sleep? We don't know how long Deshi will stay asleep." Lin told her. She pulled away with a nod. She went over to Deshi and kissed him on the forehead once more before getting ready for bed with Lin laying beside her and her cuddling up next to him.

* * *

"How much longer do you think she'll be asleep?" Elaine asked Ayako the next day as the woman checked Mai's heartbeat once more. The woman turned to look at the blonde with a smile.

"The sedative should be wearing off soon. I hope that she'll be okay. She probably won't remember having the panic attack so don't say anything about unless she brings it up, alright?" Ayako said and both Elaine and Masako nodded in understanding.

"Alright, Naru told Takigawa and myself to try and catch EVPs. He doesn't know if your cousin and her fiancé are still here or even if your own fiancé is still here." Ayako told them and Elaine's eyes widened slightly.

"You will tell me if you find anything?" Elaine asked. Ayako smiled at the girl and patted her on the shoulder and nodded in agreement. Ayako walked out of the room and closed the door behind her gently.

"Don't worry. If they find anything they will tell you." Masako assured the woman as she patted her on the shoulder and Elaine nodded in understanding.

"Mmm..." Mai groaned before her eyes fluttered open. Masako watched as the girl sat up and stretched before she looked around and realized where she was. She looked at Masako and gave a sad smile.

"I guess I passed out, didn't I?" she asked. Masako nodded and Mai shook her head before running her hand through her hair.

"Yeah. John and Takigawa brought your things back in here. They didn't think that you would want to be in the same room with Davis-san anymore." Masako replied. Mai felt her eyes widen in surprise. Masako rarely called Naru by his last name unless she was upset at him.

"Has...has he come here?" she asked softly. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer but her heart wouldn't let her ignore it.

"I'm sorry, Mai." Masako whispered. Mai gave a humorless laugh. She climbed out of the bed and went over to where they had put her suitcases. She opened it and gave the girls a smile over her shoulder.

"I think I'm going to take a shower." she said before she looked down into her suitcase. She frowned as she saw a velvet box on top of her clothes. She picked it up and opened it.

'What?' she thought as she saw that there was a diamond ring sitting in the box. With shaking fingers she pulled it out and saw there was an engraving on the band. She brought the ring up closer to her eyes and felt her eyes widen even more.

_I love you, Mai. Oliver Davis_. The writing said and Mai felt as though she were going to faint. Had he meant to propose to her on this case? She began to sob as the girls behind her began to panic.

* * *

"Guys, I think I have something." Madoka said as she pulled her headphones off. She felt everyone surround her and she looked at them before playing the EVP that Ayako had given her twenty minutes go.

"What the!" Ayako cried as they listened to it.

"_Help us...please_."

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! He he he. I might not post for a couple of days as my birthday is four days away and my family has banned me from the computer for the next days so...I hope this will do. Anyway...Like last time I wasn't able to pick my favorite answer so...I'm going to try and ask more creative questions.

Let's see...Why do you think Carson saved Amelia when she was a little girl?

Answer and read and review! Gotta love the reviewers!


	12. Chapter 11: Ways of the Sinister

"Mai, what's wrong?" Masako asked before she saw the ring in Mai's hands and she felt her eyes widen.

"This...isn't my ring. They...must have...packed it on accident." Mai whispered in a broken voice. Masako took a closer look at the ring and felt her heartbreak. It was an engagement ring. She looked at Mai's desperate face before turning and walking out of the room, her intentions clear.

She entered the base and cleared her throat. She watched as everyone turned to look at her from where they had been listening to something. Although at the moment she really didn't care. There was currently only one thing on her mind.

"Davis-san, may I speak to you in the hallway?" she asked coolly. Naru nodded before walking away from the group of people he had been standing with. They left the base and walked a good distance from it before Masako turned to glare at him.

"You are an asshole." she whispered. She saw his eyebrow quirk before she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You went and bought that damned ring with every intention of proposing and then you go and just...let her go? What is wrong with you? Don't you get that you have hurt her so much that she may never recover?"

"I would suggest that you let go of me, Hara-san." Naru said dangerously. Masako narrowed her eyes before doing as he said. She shook her head at him before clenching her jaw as she continued to stare at him.

"I would suggest that you grow up." Masako hissed at him angrily before turning and walking back towards her room. Naru watched the medium go with a slightly stunned look on his face. The last thing he had expected was for the medium to scold him. He frowned as another thought crossed his mind.

'How did she know about the ring? I didn't tell anybody about that ring.' he thought before turning and looking at the base. There was only one person that could have known about that ring even if Noll hadn't told him about. A certain twin of his that was able to know what he was thinking if said twin so wished.

"Gene, can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked coolly. The other boy turned to look at him before nodding and walking towards Naru. Gene wondered why the boy looked to be in such bad spirits. After all he was the one that had been causing a good number of the problems that weren't supernatural.

"What?" Gene asked once they had stepped into the hallway. Naru stood there

with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"I would like to know how a certain girl found out about a certain ring." he asked angrily. Gene raised an eyebrow and a smirk spread across his face. It was suddenly very hard to tell who was who.

"And you are blaming me? Now, how is it that I just showed up again and you are blaming your problems on your dear older brother?" Gene asked before Naru had him up against the wall. He blinked in surprise. He hadn't known that it would be so easy to rile his brother up. It was amusing.

"I had no intention of giving Mai that ring!" he told his brother. Gene narrowed his eyes before he managed to push the younger twin away.

"You mean you had no intention of giving her the ring after pushing her away because you decided what she wanted." Gene told him. He watched as his brother's eyes widened as they stared at each other. Gene shook his head at his brother.

"They have some more things that they want you to look at." Gene told him before turning and walking back into the room. Naru looked over his shoulder in the direction that Masako had walked. What was he supposed to do? He shook his head before slowly walking back into the base with the door closing behind him with a gentle snap.

* * *

"I got her to rest." Elaine whispered as Masako reentered the bedroom. The medium nodded before taking a seat on her bed and looking at the sleeping Mai. One look at her face could tell anyone that she had been crying. Masako gave a soft sigh before looking at Elaine she put the ring away and shook her head.

"She was holding onto it the whole time I was trying to calm her down. I didn't have the heart to just take it away from her. I had to wait for her to fall asleep before I could take the ring." Elaine whispered as she took a seat beside Masako. The medium nodded before running a hand through her hair.

"I talked to Davis-san but he seemed as though he really didn't care. As though she didn't mean anything to him. It doesn't seem right. I don't...I don't understand. He seems so happy with her." Masako whispered as she continued to stare at the sleeping Mai.

"It seems most men are complete and utter jerks. I mean, even Mark was a jerk...never Carson though. He was always doting on my cousin and he never seemed to be at ease if she was out of his sight." Elaine recalled with a gentle smile on her face and Masako returned the smile.

"We will help you and your family, Elaine." Masako assured the young woman. Elaine smiled at her gratefully before they both turned to look at Mai as the girl turned in her sleep before settling back down and Elaine gave a soft sigh of relief.

"She needs as much rest as she can get." Elaine told Masako. The medium just nodded before looking at her friend worried. What was she dreaming about? Could it be paranormal or would it be a normal dream, like what she hoped for so desperately? She just wasn't sure. She would be thankful if Mai was able to have a normal nap.

* * *

Mai found herself standing in what looked like a bedroom. She watched as a woman entered the woman, tears on her face. Mai recognized the woman as Elaine's cousin, Amelia. Mai wonder what had upset the young woman so badly. She went over and sat down beside Amelia on the bed as the woman buried her head into her pillow.

'Her clothes look torn. What happened to her?' Mai thought before looking up as the door the room opened and Carson dashed into the room, with the door shutting firmly behind him.

"Amelia, what did that bastard do?" he demanded. Mai watched as Amelia tried to disappear even further into the bed. Mai felt worried as she began to put two and two together. There was no doubt in her mind that Carson had been talking about Elaine's father and Amelia's uncle. What had the man done to her?

"Amelia, I saw your dress. It's ripped. Did he touch you?" he demanded before Amelia suddenly sat up and she was glaring at him. Mai felt her eyes widen in surprise.

"It wasn't Uncle. It...was Kerry." she choked out. Mai blinked in surprise before she scowled. It wasn't a surprise that Kerry was torturing them in life like he was doing in death. "He wanted me to help him get Elaine agree to stay with him but I refused. He began to beat me and I barely got away."

"That..." he was stopped as she covered his mouth. She shook her head and Mai saw that she was still crying. Mai felt her heart break at the sight. She looked so upset and scared. Mai knew the feeling all to well and she wished that she didn't.

"Carson, you are under enough suspicion as it is. Please, you have to take care. I don't want to lose you. You are the only thing I have left and I wouldn't be able to stand it if you had to go away." she whispered. Mai felt her cheeks flame as Carson leaned down and kissed Amelia before they fell back on the bed.

Mai's eyes snapped open and she realized the bedroom was dark. She gave a soft sigh. She had never been so relieved in her life to wake from her dream. She had felt so embarrassed when Carson had pushed Amelia onto the bed. She was glad that they had been so close, she just didn't want to have to see it.

She gave a soft sigh before climbing off the bed. She saw Ayako and Masako in their own beds. She also saw that Elaine was curled up on the small couch of their room. Mai gave a gentle smile before she headed towards the door and quietly slipped out. She had the sudden desire for something to do. They had allowed her to sleep all day even though she hadn't wanted to. She was grateful for the concern.

'I just have to learn to live with the pain. I know that I will never get over it but I can learn to live with it. I can't just give up because _I_ fell in love with an idiot.' she told herself as she made her way to the kitchen. She decided that some hot chocolate would help her calm her nerves from the previous dream she had just witnessed.

'Kerry was trying to get to Elaine anyway that he could. Once he realized that Amelia wouldn't help him he must have wanted to get her out of the way anyway that he could. He was so horrible.' Mai thought as she began to warm the milk for her beverage. She was grateful once she had the drink in her hands and was sipping it.

"Who's there?" a voice called and Mai jumped slightly.

"Mai Taniyama!" she called back. She was slightly relieved when she watched Gene enter the room. She saw that he was giving off a slight glow and she was immediately reminded of the fact that he was dead. She smiled at him and he returned it and she couldn't help but think that he looked nice with the glow around him.

"It's good to see you up." he told her. She gave him a gentle smile before taking another sip of her hot chocolate. He chuckled before pulling himself up one of the countertops and watched her drink her beverage.

"Would you like some?" she offered as she washed her cup out and placed it back where she had gotten it from. He shook his head with his trademark smile on his face.

"No, thank you. I heard something down here and I came down to investigate. Are you going back to Shibuya with Lin and Madoka tomorrow?" he asked. Mai shrugged as she pulled herself up beside him and she looked at the sink and chuckled.

"I don't know. Probably not. Those three need some time together. I think going may not be very helpful to them." she said and Gene just nodded in understanding and smiled as he thought of Deshi.

"Their son is quite the firecracker. I have to give him that." he chuckled and she returned it with her own laugh.

"He looks exactly like his father but he acts just like his mother. He's a good kid and I can understand why Madoka and Lin want to get him out of this house." Mai whispered softly. Gene nodded as silence took them over. He glanced at Mai and couldn't help but think that she looked pale in even the light that the bulbs gave off.

"What did you dream?" he asked as the thought struck him. There was no doubt with how long that she had been sleeping that she had dreamt about something during that time, whether it be related to the case or not.

"That's right!! Kerry attacked Amelia because she refused to help him get close to Elaine. She refused to help him get Elaine to agree to leave Mark. And he tried to kill her once before but she managed to get away from him." Mai told him and he frowned. He looked at her before jumping off the countertop and helping her off as well.

"We've been listening to audio all day and watching it as well. Noll is already asleep. I think there may be some things that you need to see. It may help make sense of what you've been seeing." he told her. She nodded in understanding before following him to the base. She waited as he typed on the computer before he motioned for him to sit next to him and he handed her the headphones.

"Oh, my gosh. That's Amelia and Carson's voices. That means that they're stuck in this house, doesn't it?" she asked as she pulled the headphones off. Gene nodded before sighing and showing her the video that had caught their eyes.

"What is that?" Mai asked as she noticed a figure standing at the top of the steps, looking faded. She watched as the figure turned it's head before disappearing and for some reason Mai felt her heart break. "She's looking for Carson."

"Mai?" Gene asked. He felt his eyes widen as he saw that there were tears in Mai's eyes. She wiped at them as she continued on, not even realizing that she was speaking out loud.

"She loved him so much that she can't move on into a life without him. She doesn't want to go with that pain in her heart! How can she leave without him being by her side?" she whispered. "Why can't he understand how much she loves him? Why?"

"Mai?" he whispered as he realized quite suddenly that she was no longer talking about Amelia and Carson. She looked at him before falling to her knees and burying her head against his own knee. He felt his eyes soften as she sobbed.

"Why can't he understand I love him?!" she cried. Gene gently ran his hand through her hair as he felt his eyes soften.

"I don't know." he whispered softly to her before he allowed the silence to swallow them. Mai continued to shake with her sobs as he silently watched the cameras as nothing happened. Mai grew silent and just lay with her head on his knee as a tear escaped her eyes ever once in awhile and fell onto Gene's pants.

'Damn it, Noll. Isn't this hurting her bad enough?' Gene thought as he kept his hand on her head. He had never seen Mai so desolate before. And it worried him deeply that she was beginning to give up. It wasn't the type of person that Mai was. 'She's broken.'

* * *

"Bye-bye, my Mai!" Deshi said brightly. Mai managed to give him a smile as she hugged the young boy. She looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at Lin when she saw that it was him. He looked at her with a gentle look on his face.

"If you need anything, you have our numbers. We'll be back late tonight." he told her and she nodded before bending down to her knees and gently kissing Deshi's forehead and winking at him.

"You be good for your grandmother." she told him and he nodded in understanding before hugging her and she returned it before standing up and nodding to Lin with a weak smile.

"Like Koujo said, we'll have our cell phones, call us if you need anything." Madoka reminded her before they waved to everyone else and walked out of the house. Mai watched the van disappear down the driveway before she felt another gentle hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at Masako who was smiling at her.

"Davis-san would like me to do a walkthrough of the basement and Elaine and Ayako are coming with me. Would you like to join our growing group?" she asked. Mai smiled before nodding in agreement. She knew that it was a way to get away from Naru and she would take it. She didn't think that she was ready

"Is she coming?" Ayako asked as she and Elaine walked down the steps with tape recorders and flashlights in hand. Mai nodded with a smile on her face before following the three other women down the stairs that led into the gloomy basement that she had never been in before. And once they entered the basement she knew why she had never been down there before.

It had to be the creepiest place in the whole house. She gave a soft sigh as she looked around the damp basement. She glanced at Masako as the medium walked around it, trying to contact any spirits that may be in the basement.

'Naru...' Mai thought sadly as she leaned against one of the walls. The pain was so fresh and yet she was trying to move on. She wasn't sure where she was finding her strength. Maybe it was the hope that Naru would realize that he did want her and wanted her to be by his side. She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes.

'Stop getting your hopes up, Mai!' she told herself and wiping her hands over her eyes. She looked up as she heard something call her name. She looked at her other comrades and realized that none of them had heard the plea for help. She turned towards the voice again and began to walk towards it.

"_Please...help me._" a voice called. She frowned before she found herself standing in front of the wall. She touched the wall and felt something shoot up her arm before she felt the floor shaking beneath her feet.

"MAI!!" she heard someone scream her name and she turned and saw Naru running towards her. She looked up and felt her eyes widen as she saw something, she thought it was a very large block, heading for her. She grunted as Naru tackled her out of the way.

She found herself staring up into his blue eyes and felt her breathing hitch. They hadn't been that close since he had insisted that she preferred his brother. She wasn't aware of her own actions as she reached up and pulled his head down towards her until their lips met in a kiss that wasn't meant to be.

I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes!! And so I've got the next chapter done! I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully I will be able to speed up on writing the chapters. So...let's see...what question do I want to ask this time? Oh, I've got a good one!!

How do you think Naru will react to Mai kissing him?


	13. Chapter 12: Ways of the Sinister

Naru stared at Mai's closed eyes before he allowed his own eyes to fall closed. He returned the pressure of the kiss as he pressed his body as close he could to hers. He knew that there were people around them but he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was Mai and the kiss. He was kissing Mai again and he felt as though he belonged with her.

Mai shifted slightly underneath him as she tightened her arms around his neck. She felt as though she were flying. She found that she never wanted to come down from the sky. She felt lost when his lips parted from hers. She opened her eyes to look up into his before he bent down to capture her lips in another kiss.

She ran her hands through his hair as his tongue entered her mouth. She forgot that they were in a haunted house. She forgot that he had just saved her. She forgot everything that seemed insignificant to her. The only thing that matter to her was that she had Naru. That he was here with her. Everything else faded away.

Naru was experiencing much the same thing. He wasn't sure how he was able to go so long without having Mai with him. He heard her give a soft groan and he pulled back slightly to look down at her. Her glazed eyes opened to look at him before he felt the ground beneath them shaking and he immediately stood up and pulled her up with him to avoid the falling piece of rock that came from the roof of the basement. Mai let out a little shriek before he made his way towards the steps with her tightly in his hold.

"What's going on?" Mai asked him as he dragged her up the steps with the others slightly ahead of them. Naru didn't reply until he had her completely out of the basement.

"I think Elaine would be able to explain better." Naru said as he looked at the blonde haired woman. Elaine brushed her skirt off before shaking her head.

"Kerry's presence is down there. I don't think that going down there again would be a good idea." Elaine said. Mai turned to look at the closed basement door and gave a small nod of her head.

"Although, you gave us a bit of a show." Ayako snickered. Mai felt her cheeks tint as she looked up at Naru. She felt her eyes sadden as she realized that he was refusing to look at her. Was he regretting kissing her? She gave a soft sigh, she really wasn't what he wanted. She knew that she had always been right about thinking that she wasn't good enough for him.

'I guess he just realized it, didn't he?' she thought with a depressed sigh as she followed the other women and Naru up the steps back to the base. She frowned in confusion, how had he known that she was in danger? And more importantly, why had he come to her rescue if he wanted nothing to do with her?

"Mai, I wish to speak with you." he held her back as she tried to enter the base with the others. She forced herself not to scowl before she turned to him, steeling her heart for the pain that she knew was coming. She didn't need to hear what he was going to say. She was actually terrified of having to face it.

"Yes, Naru?" she asked. She really didn't want to hear what he had to say. She had a feeling that she already knew what was going to come out of his mouth. And that she wasn't going to like it.

"I...don't understand." he admitted. She blinked in surprise before taking as close look at him. It was definitely Naru. She took a deep breath as she knew very well what he was referring to.

"What's there to understand? I love you." she told him. He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head, not really understanding. Not that it was a surprise. He never really understood the obvious things, as far as she was concerned.

"That. How can you say that so easily? How...how can you just accept everything?" he asked. She felt her eyes widen in surprise before she gave him a gentle smile. She made her way over to him and gently touched his face and he watched as her eyes softened with her smile.

"Because I just do. There isn't anything complicated about it. You are you. That is all that matters to me." she told him with her trademark smile. He looked down at her before reaching and touching her cheek. She couldn't help but think he looked like a child that couldn't believe Santa Clause had visited him.

"I...Mai..." he looked away and she reached up and turned his head back towards her. She gave a bright smile before stepping away and folding her hands in front of her.

"What's your name?" she asked. She saw him frown and knew that he had no idea what she was up to.

"Mai-" she cut him off by holding her hand up.

"Please, just humor me." she told him with another smile. She knew exactly what she was doing, she just hoped that he got the hint.

"My name is Oliver Davis. You know that." he told her exasperatedly. What she was doing? Had she lost her mind? She was obviously up to something, he just didn't know what. He wasn't even sure if he really wanted to know.

"Amazing. I'm in love with an Oliver Davis." she told him. He blinked and she smiled at him. "Although he is rather annoying. He keeps thinking that I'm in love with a guy name Eugene Davis when I believe it's quite obvious that I'm not."

"Mai..." she walked over and silenced him with her lips. It didn't take him long to bring her fully against his body. He held her as tightly as he could. He realized that he was no longer capable of keeping her away. Mai was something that he couldn't live without. She had embedded herself so deep in his heart that there was no way to rid his heart of her. Not that he wanted to.

"Mai..." he whispered as they pulled apart. She looked slightly dazed and he felt his breath catch. Without thought he scooped her up into his arms and they disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

* * *

"Koujo, I love your mother dearly, but there is only so much time that I can spend with that woman and not feel as though I'm losing my mind." Madoka told her husband as they rode down the little road that led to Wei's house. Lin chuckled at the note in Madoka's voice.

"I must say...that she has become eccentric in her years. Maybe it's because we let her take care of Deshi so much." he told her. She gave a soft laugh before she reached over and took his hand that wasn't on the steering wheel.

"I know she's lonely over in China. Maybe we should suggest that she think about getting an apartment in England. It would bring her closer to us and your little sister. And she would be able to watch Deshi whenever we are at work." Madoka suggested and Lin frowned before nodding.

"It probably would be a good idea. I'm not sure if she would like the idea but she might think it's a good idea." Lin said as he squeezed her hand before he parked the van in front of the mansion.

They climbed out of the van and started towards the front door. They quickly made their way upstairs to the base. They were surprised to find just Ayako sitting at the base reading something. The miko looked up and Madoka blinked at the look in her eyes.

"It seems that Carson had his own diary of sorts. And the last entry clearly shows that he was having trouble controlling his bloodlust." Ayako told them. Madoka frowned before walking over to Ayako and taking the diary. She looked up as everyone else, except for Naru and Mai entered the room. Gene saw the diary in her hands and looked at her.

"What does it say?" Lin asked her. She looked back down at the pages before reading the neat handwriting.

"Things keep getting worse. Amelia is afraid to even let Elaine out of her sight. Not that I can blame her. After Amelia's encounter with Kerry she is terrified for Elaine's sake. However, Amelia just revealed to me that Elaine's father is actually Amelia's Uncle. Though she always referred to him as a cousin. I asked her why she would lie to me. She said that she hated and hoped that maybe referring to him as her cousin would weaken the family bond they have.

"Amelia is so strong for a human. Although because of that I am beginning to crave her blood more and more. I realize that soon if I don't do something that I could very well end up killing her. The thought terrifies me. Amelia is one of the most important people in the world to me. I couldn't stand to lose her. And the thought that I could be the one to do that damage scares me even worse.

"She doesn't know that I've been struggling with this and I have no intention of telling. I can only hope that I can fight the blood thirst off until summer comes and I can go hunting. Only then can I fight off the lust for blood." Madoka finished softly before looking up and Masako gave a soft sigh.

"He was trying to fight off his lively hood so that he could protect the woman he loved, no matter what. It's just so horrible that they were forced to leave the world before they were able to escape this house." Masako whispered and Elaine nodded in agreement as she wiped her tears away.

"Getting out of this house was difficult. It was like there was a curse on those that wished to leave. Amelia got away and I can't believe she came back for me. I wish she would have just forgotten about me." Elaine whispered and Masako placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulders.

"It wouldn't be surprising if Kerry placed a curse on your family because no one would help him get you to agree to be his. If we can rid this house of his spirit then you and your lover and your cousin's spirit along with her lover's will be freed. Which means we have to find Wei, as he is harboring Kerry's spirit." Masako said as she glanced up at Lin. The Chinese's man's eyes narrowed as he also realized that.

"We can start a new search tomorrow. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can barely keep my eyes open." Takigawa said and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Elaine and I can stay up and watch the monitors. As we aren't technically living we don't really need much sleep. Of course, only if that's alright with Elaine?" he asked. The blonde haired girl just nodded before shooing everyone else out and telling them to rest well.

"Where's Mai and Naru?" Madoka asked before everyone parted ways. John and Masako exchanged looks as did Ayako and Takigawa.

"I'm not really sure. Naru wanted to talk to her a couple of hours ago so maybe they're still talking." Ayako suggested. Masako shrugged in agreement before they all turned to part ways.

"NARU!! SOMEONE!! HELP!!"

* * *

So...there is that chapter. Not much more that I can say. Please review. The reviews make me very, very, very happy.

Okay...as for the question...Who's yelling for help and why? Remember to leave your answer in a review and tell me what you think!! I appreciate all reviews, and seeing what people think will happen makes me realize what I make people think!


	14. Author's Note

Hello, to all my readers

Hello, to all my readers. I don't like how this story ended, it felt to rushed. So for now, my _Under the Sea_ story is being put on hiatus. I am reworking the _Ways of the Sinister_. I hope you will come back and read it as I promise to make this ending much better than the last!


	15. Chapter 13: Ways of the Sinister

"Mai!!" Gene stood from his chair. He waited before he heard the scream again and he ran. He bounded up the steps, thankful that he was dead as he no longer needed oxygen as he ran. He skidded to a halt at the sight that greeted him.

Mai had hold of a collapsed Naru. She was looking at a black mass that was at the other end of the hallway. Gene moved towards them and knelt down beside them. He saw that Naru's eyes were still open and that he was looking at the black mass as well. Gene looked at it and felt as though something had punched him in the gut and he was bent over.

"Gene, what's wrong?!" Mai cried as she continued to hold Naru. Gene forced himself to look at the black mass. He knew what, or better _who_, it was.

"You aren't wanted here! You're torturing those spirits! Forcing them to do things that they don't wish to do!" he yelled. He felt Mai's hand on his shoulder and he felt something pierce him in the chest and he gasped. How was he able to feel pain? He was already dead! He shouldn't be able to feel it!!

"Leave this place!" Gene cried.

"_Go to hell!!_" the black mass started heading towards them. It stopped before Gene saw it shift. He frowned before it sped up and he watched in horror as it passed through Mai. She screamed as she was pushed back and Gene reached out to grab her hand. He let out a hiss as pain shot through him.

"G-Gene...help...me..." Mai gasped and Gene looked down at his hand. He felt his eyes widening as he saw that his hand was beginning to fade away. He watched as Mai fell onto the floor and her eyes closed. He looked over his shoulder at Naru and saw his brother staring at him horrified. He gave a sad smile before his body vanished.

"Gene!!" Noll managed to crawl to where he had seen Gene disappear over Mai's fallen body. He shook his head before pulling Mai close. He tried to shake her awake and she gave a soft sob. He watched as tears escaped her eyes and he tried desperately to wake her.

"Mai!! Mai!! Wake up!!"

* * *

Mai felt as though her whole body had been stabbed by knives. She gave a soft groan before her eyes opened. She felt as thought she could just close her eyes and keep everything blocked out. She was wondering if she could give up and she gave a soft gasp as pain pierced her entire being. What was happening to her?

"Mai?" she looked at the voice that was speaking to her. She sat up quickly as she saw Gene sitting beside her. She winced as her head gave an angry twinge. Maybe sitting up so quickly wasn't such a good idea. She gulped as Gene wrapped his arm around her shoulders before helping her stand up.

She looked at her surroundings and drew closer to Gene as she realize that everything was black. She glanced at Gene and he shook his head at her before looking around himself. He gave a soft sigh as he sensed nothing menacing around them but that didn't mean anything.

"Where are we?" Mai asked quietly as she continued to cling to Gene. She just wanted to get back to Naru. She didn't know what happened, she really didn't care at the moment. The only thing that she wanted was to get back!

"I'm not sure myself." Gene told her with a soft sigh. He continued to hold her close as he looked at their surroundings. He had never been in such a place, even when he was asleep. He pulled her closer as he tried to think of something to do.

"Gene, I want to go back." he heard her whisper. He looked down at her and nodded before looking back up.

"I know. We'll get you back to Noll. I promise you. I'll get you back to him." he told her as he continued to hold her in hopes to protect her from the nothingness that seemed to be closing in on them. He heard her give a soft whimper as she drew closer to his chest and he cursed inwardly. What was happening?!

* * *

"Her vitals are fine! I don't know what's going on!! Masako, give me that heart monitor!" Ayako ordered. The kimono clad girl immediately complied. Masako watched as Ayako unbuttoned Mai's shirt as she lay on the bed. Ayako quickly put the sensors along Mai's chest and turned the machine on.

Masako quietly slipped out of the room and walked towards the base. She could only hope the person that she wanted to talk to would be in there. She peeked into the base and gave a sigh of relief when she saw that he was the only one in the room and she walked over towards him. She saw that he was praying and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, Masako...how is she doing?" he asked as she turned towards him. She looked away from his bright blue eyes before taking a seat in one of the many chairs that were scattered around the base. She jumped as one of his hands covered both of hers that were clenching the skirt of her kimono tightly.

"I don't know. Matsuzaki-san said that her heart rate was normal but...there's something trying to take her soul. Trying to kill her. I can sense Gene-san trying to save her but I don't know how long he can protect her with him having been weakened by being out here." Masako whispered as she tried to hold back her tears. It was scaring, what she had felt when she was in the room with Mai.

"We have to trust in Gene-san then. We have to have faith in him, Masako. I believe that he can protect Mai-chan." he told her. Masako turned her hands over and clutched his tightly as she looked into his bright blue eyes.

"Right." Masako whispered as she reached up and wiped her tears away. She had become close to Mai and wished that she didn't feel so helpless. She fell forward and felt John wrap his arms around her. She buried her head into his shirt and let the tears flow. John rubbed his hand up and down her back.

'Please guide Gene and Mai back to us, Lord.' he prayed as he closed his eyes and bowed his head in prayer.

* * *

"Elaine, what do you know about this dark mass?" Naru asked, the anger in his voice barely suppressed. The blonde haired woman watched as he paced back and forth in the kitchen that he had insisted on interviewing her in.

"I don't know. But don't you think it would be better if you were sitting with Mai and trying to guide her back other than sitting here interrogating me?" Elaine said coldly and she watched as he froze. He looked at her with a cold glare.

"Shut the hell up." he hissed and Elaine tilted her head as a teacup went flying through the air at her face. She blinked at him before pushing herself away from the kitchen table and glared at him.

"No. You need to grow up. I saw that ring, Mr. Davis. If you're going to make that commitment to someone then you need to understand exactly what you're committing to! And that includes being with your loved one when they need you the most. If you can figure that out, _Dr_. Davis...then you don't deserve Mai!" Elaine turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen.

Naru fell into his seat as he watched the angry swinging door. He bowed his head and realized that Elaine was right. If he couldn't do the simple task of sitting by Mai's side and wait for her to wake-up, what good was he? He knew that finding out reasons to wake her up were helpful but if he was only doing it to block it from himself, that was being a coward and he knew that.

He stood up and walked out of the kitchen. As he neared his bedroom he heard a steady beeping. He pushed the door open and saw Ayako sitting at the bedside with Mai tucked underneath the covers and what Naru saw was a heart monitor. He saw Ayako look up and he glanced at Mai and she nodded before standing up.

"I'll leave you alone. Is there anything I can do?" she asked. He gave a soft sigh as he claimed her seat.

"Assist the others in looking for that mass." he told her. She just nodded before walking out of the room. Before she closed the door she sent one last look back and felt her eyes soften. Naru had reached out and taken Mai's hand. Ayako closed the door to let the couple have their privacy.

'Finding that black mass may be harder than we thought. If it's trying to kill Mai, most of it's energy will be focused on her and we won't be able to find it. Hopefully Lin will be able to sense it with his shiki.' Ayako thought as she went to find the others and hopefully chase down the black mass that had hurt Mai.

* * *

Lin's eyes opened slowly as he drew his awareness away from the shiki to let them continued with their search of the house and grounds. He looked at Madoka who was sleeping soundly in the bed. Night had fallen on the house with Naru refusing to leave Mai's side and promising to let Ayako know if anything changed in Mai's vitals.

"Has anything changed?" Madoka asked. He frowned as he realized that she wasn't as asleep as he thought that she had been. He sighed before looking up at the ceiling as he leaned back onto the headrest.

"No. The shiki have found nothing. If I didn't think it would put Mai in even more danger I would suggest that we leave immediately." Lin said angrily. Madoka gave a soft sigh before sitting up.

"We can't leave yet. We have to solve this case and help Elaine. She's still convinced that Mark, Amelia, and Carson are here. Our job is to put the ghosts to rest and for Elaine and everyone else able to rest...we have to reunite them. And to do that we have to find and expel this dark entity from this house." Madoka said. Lin narrowed his eyes before nodding in agreement. He knew she was right. He just wasn't sure how they were going to find the black mass and even if doing so would help Mai return to them.

* * *

"Gene?" Mai whispered softly as the boy continued to hold her tightly. She was becoming more and more panicked over the setting that they were in.

"Excuse me?" she jumped at the unknown voice. Gene moved in front of her as they both saw a figure walking towards them. Mai watched as blonde hair became apparent on the figure. Mai gasped as she recognized the figure as he became clear to her vision.

"You're...you're Carson!!" she cried and the former vampire nodded and Gene moved away from Mai and allowed the newcomer to see her.

"Yes. I'm going to try and take you back to your world." he told her. Mai looked at Gene who frowned at the blonde haired boy.

"How do I know that we can trust you?" he asked the blonde with narrowed eyes. Mai studied the boy and suddenly knew how she would make sure that he was who he was claiming to be.

"Who else, besides Amelia, knew you were a vampire?" she asked. She watched as his eyes widened and knew that he hadn't expected her to know his secret. She continued to wait in silence.

"Mark knew. He was trying to help me curb my thirst for her." his eyes dropped.

"Why?" Mai asked and he gave a soft sigh.

"Mark didn't want me to inadvertently drain her to much and kill the baby."

* * *

_Alright, there's a chapter. This is a lot harder than I thought. I think I'm beginning to go into a writer's block which means all stories maybe going on a hault. But please review and if you have any ideas please feel welcome to share them. Maybe it will pull me away form that writer's block! So review and I hope you enjoyed!_


	16. Chapter 14: Ways of the Sinister

_Okay...I know! I know!! I'm late, extremely late. Things have been hectic and I just forgot. Bad excuse, I know. Anyway, this is the final chapter. This story is complete! Yay!! I am thinking of other stories to publish because the writer's block I was in is gone! It will be May before any big projects as I'm still in school until then. Still, I'm not gone anymore and not dead, as some have speculated I'm sure. Enjoy!! And please, review!!_

* * *

"Baby?" Mai asked shocked. She looked at Gene and saw that his eyebrows were up as high as they could go. She turned back to Carson and met his eyes and he dropped his gaze. She felt her eyes sadden as she realized that the vampire was still hurting over the fact that not only was he dead, but his lover and child had been murdered.

"Yes." he whispered and Mai resisted the urge to reach out and touch the man. She wasn't sure how you went about comforting a dead vampire, especially one that was going to be a father. Mai hadn't thought that a vampire could become a parent.

"How is that, Carson? You should be barren." Gene voiced Mai's thoughts. Mai looked at the medium before back at the vampire. She watched as Carson ran a hand through his hair before he looked back at the two standing in front of him.

"That's what I thought until Amelia told me she was expecting. It was one of the reasons that I finally went to Mark and asked him to hurry the wedding so that Amelia and I could get away from this house." Carson said as he continued to run his hand through his hair.

"But it didn't work." Mai whispered softly. Carson gave an angry sigh before nodding in agreement. Mai was beginning to understand the whole situation. When Amelia had become pregnant it just rushed all the plans. And undoubtedly because of the happiness that the quartet felt they hadn't noticed the one that had killed them lurking in the shadows, waiting.

"You were so rushed in trying to take Amelia away...that you didn't notice what was going on." she whispered. Carson nodded. Mai felt her heart break as she saw the tears in his eyes. He was still upset and tortured over what happened to his lover and child. Mai knew that look. It was the same look that Lin had on his face when the doctor informed him of Madoka's miscarriage.

"Carson, we're going to help you. I promise you. But first, I have to get back to the world of the living. It's the only way that I can help. Elaine is our link...she has to know something that she just doesn't realize. Or maybe something that you thought was irrelevant. Anything." Mai begged softly. She felt so desperate to help these ghosts. She had befriended Elaine and wanted to help her and her family members.

"Irrelevant? I remember one day I had just woken and stumbled out of the bedroom. Kerry, I believe that was his name, was standing outside Elaine's door. He was chanting something although I wasn't sure what. At the time I thought I was imagining things and forgot about it." he told them. Mai glanced at Gene and saw that he was looking thoughtful.

"It sounds almost like he was sealing the house. He's planned this all along. He sealed the souls here so that even after he killed them...they would be here for him to control." Gene closed his eyes. It was the first time that Mai had seen Gene angry. She found that she was slightly scared. He looked more like Naru now than he had ever before. She found that she didn't like that expression on his face at all.

"Gene?" she whispered softly. She tried to touch his arm but he flinched away. She felt her eyes grow soft in concern. Something wasn't right. That was the same expression that Naru had sported when he had gotten hurt at her old schoolhouse. The same look that spoke of self-disgusting.

"How could I have missed this? It was in front of me the entire time!" he growled to himself. Mai took a deep breath before fisting her hand and hitting him as hard as she could, knocking him to the floor. He looked up at her surprised and she glared at him as she decided that it was time to stop letting him and Naru take control.

"It isn't your fault! So what if you missed it? The point is that we can fix it now and we have to figure out how I'm supposed to get back to the world of the living. The only way that we can help Carson and the others." Mai asked angrily. Gene frowned before standing back up as he rubbed the back of his head and raised an eyebrow at the girl breathing hard in front of him. She continued to glare before whirling on Carson and he blinked.

"Get us back now." she demanded. He nodded in understanding before turning his back on them and waving his hand. A door appeared and he turned back to the two behind him before tilting his head.

"This is what Elaine used to get back to the world of the living in hopes to clear the air about the house. She loved that house, more than anything with the exception of Mark." Carson said. Mai turned to Gene and he shook his head at her. He reached out and gently stroked her cheek before winking.

"We both know that I've used my time up. It was nice to be alive again, if only for a short time." he told her. She nodded before hugging him tightly. He returned the gesture before placing a gentle kiss on her head as they pulled apart.

"You keep Noll in place, you hear me?" he told her. She nodded. "I think that if you just get everyone to exorcise the actual house because of the curse placed on it, you'll be rid of the entity. And once that is done, leave this house, Mai."

"I promise, Gene. We will solve this case and leave as fast as we can." she whispered. He nodded before patting her on the head with a gentle smile on his face. The same smile that he had been wearing when they first met in her dreams.

"Good. Take care." was the last thing he whispered before she turned and ran through the door. She could feel her heart cracking and wondered if this was truly good-bye because she was not sure how many more painful good-byes that she could stand.

* * *

When she first mumbled in her sleep it had brought from the half-sleep that he was in. He shook his head and stared at her from covered by the sheets from the bed. Her head moved and her lips moved, sound moving but the words were hard to understand. He couldn't make them out and leaned closer when suddenly her eyes snapped open. She gave a soft cry before jerking up and he barely dodged in time to avoid their heads colliding.

"Mai?" he questioned. She looked at him before sighing. She reached out and took his hands with hers and kissed them gently. He frowned, wondering why the girl was being so loving when he thought he deserved her beating. She smiled up at him once more before tackling him causing his balanced to shift and he went down with her and found himself on his back on the floor with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and feeling as though she was never going to let go.

"Naru. I'm so glad to be back. I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again!" she mumbled softly into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her head. He didn't want to let her go either. He hadn't been sure if he would ever get to hold her again and he was glad that he was able to feel her form in his arms once more.

"How are you awake, Mai?" he asked as she finally began to let go and he was able to sit up. He helped her up to sit back on the bed as he reclaimed his own seat. She kept her hands wrapped around his and refused to let go. He didn't say anything as he wasn't sure what was happening. His brain was barely catching up to the fact that she was awake and healthy.

"Naru, Gene and I figured out how to stop this. We have to exorcise the house, purify it. And leave." she whispered. Naru studied her eyes and saw that she was being serious. He nodded in understanding as she brought his hands up to kiss the back of them and noticed the way that her eyes were glistening.

"Mai, what's wrong? You're upset." he told her. She gave a soft laugh before meeting his eyes and shrugging her shoulders. He watched as she blinked her eyes to brush away the tears.

"I'm fine. It's just….I don't know how many more good-byes that we can survive, Naru. Why do we always have to say good-bye to him when we already have three times?" she whispered softly to him. He shrugged his shoulders and squeezed her hands gently. He didn't know himself the answer why.

"Things are always changing, Mai. Time and with it the way that things are meant to happen. I don't know if this will be the last time you, or I, see Gene. For all I know, the next case we have, when you close your eyes he could be there. Waiting to guide you into the answer that awaits you. Then he might not. I'm not a future teller." Naru told her. Mai gave a soft laugh as she met his eyes. She reached and stroked his cheek before leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on Naru's lips. They pulled apart and her eyes were determined.

"Let's finish this." she whispered. He nodded in agreement before standing, with her hand clasped in his as they walked towards the door. Mai glanced at the bed before a gentle smile spread across her face as she could just imagine Gene, laying there, with a grin on his face and some odd hat on his head. She let the smile fall before following Naru out of the room.

'Good-bye, Gene.'

* * *

"Mai!! You're up!" Ayako cried as the couple walked into the room. Mai nodded with a small smile on her face. She giggled as everyone, except Madoka and Lin, tackled her in a group hug. Once everyone had made sure that it was her and that she was just fine, she sat down with Naru at her side.

"Gene said that we have to exorcise the house itself. Because Kerry placed the curse on it, it trapped everyone. Once that is done, Elaine…you and your family can finally move on." Mai told the blonde woman. She watched as Elaine's eyes began to tear up and she moved to Mai and hugged her tightly. Mai returned the hug just as tightly.

"Thank you so much." Elaine whispered in her ear. Mai let a smile spread across her face as Elaine moved away. She turned to everyone as Lin cleared his throat and they all looked at him.

"If that is the case, then you might want to go back to your spirit form, Elaine. Exorcising the house may be the solution but if you remain as you are now…you might not be able to move on." Lin told her. Elaine nodded and looked at the friends she had made with a bright smile.

"I'm so glad I was able to meet you. Everyone has done so much for me. I hope we can meet again." she turned to Lin and Madoka with a gentle smile. "Tell Deshi I said good-bye."

"We will." Madoka replied with a bright smile. Elaine nodded as she vowed silently to find the spirit of the baby that Madoka had lost. She would take care of the child with everything in her, just to make it up to this woman.

"Thank you so much and good-bye, everyone!" she said brightly. She tilted her head up and everyone watched as her body tensed up. A light burst from her chest and slowly everything faded away and the pile of bones fell to the ground and everyone gasped.

Naru glanced at Mai and saw that she had a gentle smile on her face. He reached out and touched her shoulder. She turned to him with the smile still on her face as she covered his hand with her own. They studied each other for a moment before her smile grew even bigger.

"She and the others will be at peace soon, Naru. They'll be free from this place. Isn't that wonderful?" she asked. Naru nodded as he placed a kiss on her nose and she blinked curiously. Naru kept a smile at bay as this was typical Mai behavior. Neither noticed the entire base gawking at the un-Naru behavior. He had never kissed Mai anywhere before and suddenly to just plant one on her nose?

A discrete cough from Masako drew everyone's attention to her. She kept her kimono sleeve up to cover her mouth to keep a smirk from her mouth. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Naru had heard her cough and was currently taking the advantage to kiss Mai and rid the poor girl of her senses. Masako wanted to give one of those evil laughs before refrained herself.

"I believe, as Mai just pointed out, that everyone here needs to prepare for an exorcism? Why is everyone still standing here like lumps on a log then?" she asked sweetly. She watched amused as Ayako and Takigawa argued the entire way out, discussing who should have noticed first that they weren't moving. John just shook his head with a smile on his face before bowing to Masako.

"I will bless the house once they are done." he informed her before leaving behind the arguing couple. Masako glanced at Madoka and Lin and watched as the red headed woman pulled the tall man out of his chair.

"_I_ can watch the monitors. _You_ need to help them. This is a big house." she told him stubbornly. Lin sighed before leaving the base as well and Masako shook her head. She glanced at Naru once more and let the smile surface as he had Mai tightly against his side as she kept her head on his shoulder. She gave a soft giggle before leaving the room as well. Things were working out in their favor and Masako couldn't help but think that it was about time.

* * *

The exorcism was a success. It was only proved when after a walkthrough was done and they found Wei's body. Lin had checked for a pulse and found none. It was only when the body turned to dust that the group knew that it was over. They had found the remains of the rest of the family. Mai had been adamant about burying them in the garden where Elaine had mentioned that they all loved to spend time together. No one had disagreed and John had held a small service for those four people that had grown in their hearts even though they had known them through documents and stories told.

"Mai, tea!" Mai sighed softly as she glanced over shoulder. It had been two years since that case. Some things had changed, Madoka and Lin had moved to Japan because the woman wanted Deshi to start school there. Masako and John had moved to Australia and visited on birthdays and holidays, Mai wasn't sure but she thought that they were to be married. Ayako and Takigawa had moved in together but both had refused to marry each other. They liked things as they were. She and Naru…well, they were still the same. Dating and nothing more.

"Coming!" she called in reply. She stood up and moved into the kitchen and started the tea. She waited for the kettle to whistle as she mused. Madoka was expecting another child and Lin was distraught with worry but the doctors had assured Madoka and her husband that a C-section was a perfectly normal procedure. Mai shook her head amusedly. Lin would always be overprotective of his family and there was nothing anyone could say to change it.

The tea kettle whistled and she busied herself in making Naru's tea. She walked back out and frowned as she found Deshi, five now and being babysat by them, standing there holding a rose and a velvet box. She glanced at Naru's door and saw that it was open and Naru was leaning against it. She turned back to Deshi and watched as he opened the box to reveal the diamond ring she remembered from two years ago.

"Will Mai please marry Naru?" the boy asked. Mai felt the trey fell from her numb fingers. She looked at Naru and he nodded. She ran to him and hugged him tightly and heard Deshi giggle in the background.

"I think that means yes!" Deshi cheered happily. Mai kissed Naru before pulling away and watching as Naru took the ring from Deshi. He placed it on the tip of her finger and she met his eyes.

"Will you, Mai Taniyama, marry me, Oliver Davis?" he asked. Mai put a hand to her mouth as she watched him slip the ring on her finger.

"Yes." she whispered before pulling him in for another kiss. So maybe things had changed. She was engaged to the most wonderful, narcissistic but wonderful, man in the world. Her family was coming together and she knew, deep down in her heart that no matter how bad things would get…they always had each other. Nothing would be able to tear them apart.

"I love you, Noll. So much." she whispered into his ear as they hugged. She felt his arms tighten around her waist.

"I love you too." he replied. She glanced over his shoulder and felt her eyes widen as she saw Gene standing there with a grin his face. He gave her a thumbs up before disappearing in a flash of light. She buried her head against Naru's shoulder as they continued to hug.

They pulled apart as there was a loud crash and then a sudden yelling. They watched as the door opened and everyone spilled in. Madoka with a worrisome Lin hovering around her as she kept a hand on her swollen stomach, Ayako and Takigawa arguing loudly, with John and Masako silently observing. It would only take a few moments for everyone to notice the ring on Mai's finger and for the questions to start. For now, this little office that Mai had walked into nearly four years ago was where they called home.

'No. No, wherever we all are…that's home. To me, to Naru, to all of us. Together we make home.' Mai thought as the questions started and she kept her hand firmly intertwined with Naru's.


End file.
